To walk into a room or an exhibition space, despite other attractions, one’s eye is drawn to the distinctive, if not unique, paintings of Neil Johnson…. phenomenology at play. He has marked out his territory as an important contemporary landscape artist practising in Wales.
Neil has had a long association with Wales, beginning with childhood holidays to the west coast where he heard, in both Welsh and English, mystical tales of giants and dragons that fired his young imagination. Later, during the early 1970’s, he seized on the opportunity to live in Borth for a time before going on to higher education. His love of climbing and mountaineering in the Welsh terrain created a lasting bond with the landscape that was to underpin and drive much of his later artworks. Born in Leicestershire, he trained at today’s Manchester Metropolitan University during the 1970’s. For three decades he had a successful career as an art teacher in South Manchester, during which time he continued with his own private practice, developing a personal technique and style. In 2007 Neil and his wife Jill went to live permanently in Borth Ceredigion and has since devoted much of his time and energy to his paintings. His obvious talents led him to becoming a member of the Royal Watercolour Society of Wales, a founder member of the Borth Arts Group, a member of the Room 103 group, a committee member at Mid Wales Arts Centre, Caersws, and a trustee of the climate change charity Art+Science. His impressive resume notes that he has exhibited his artworks at galleries throughout Britain and overseas, including several solo shows. His work is in private collections worldwide…amongst which are several commissions.
His paintings are reminiscent of shattered mirrors, whose myriad pieces each have their own complexity, forming a distinctive visual language. The viewer can compose their own interpretations; and after giving their mind a shake, form a different viewpoint, like looking into a kaleidoscope, yielding a multiplicity of imagery. The fragmentation device is used by other artists but Neil’s interpretation is instantly recognisable and unique, resulting from a long and deep engagement with the subject matter. Musicality is an element in some works which have rhythmic nuances …this is no surprise as music plays an important part in Neil’s life, both listening and playing. Of his work Neil says, “In recalling a place or time we rarely remember a single image from a specific viewpoint. My work attempts to give a sense of passing through a place or time. Sometimes it is rhythmic and harmonious, sometimes discordant”.
Neil, in musician mode, uses the term discordant as an opposite to harmonious and states that colour, line and form can be used in ways that cause tension and confusion and conversely calmness and melodiousness. Sometimes this is by design but often occurs when the artist is in subconscious dialogue with the work. Like music, art that is more abstract in form, reveals more detail and depth with repeated viewing, or listening. An immediately attractive pop song can quickly become uninspiring, but a more complex piece, jazz or orchestral composition may take time to get to know and enjoy. The same applies to a work of art which, like a beloved book or poem, should be “read” unhurriedly; revealing something rewarding with each viewing. Great care, precision and consideration has gone into the creation of his visions. However, in recent years Neil has become more intuitive, relying less on detailed planning and direct observation and more on imagination and memory. This echoes French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, a proponent of phenomenology, who moved from the world of science and reason to that of poetry and the imagination.
His list of influences includes David Hockney’s “Joiners” Photography, Cubism, Orphism, Futurism, Vorticism, Bauhaus artists Lyonel Feininger and Johannes Itten, and more recently, the works of Minoru Nomata, David Blackburn, and Robert Davies. All artists are influenced by others, and one may detect in Neil’s work the elements of Paul Cezanne’s landscapes constructed of geometric shapes and coloured planes which were precursors of Cubism. Umberto Boccioni, one of the founders of Italian Futurism, used the device of fragmented forms that were like a whirl of movement through time and space; influenced by modern life which he embraced, especially its dynamism, vitality, and speed. Similarly, these characteristics can also be seen in Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending Staircase. In Ben Nicholson’s painting August 1956, he uses an encompassing strong line which on first reading distracts the eye, but on a second viewing we see several everyday shapes contained within the linearity. Lyonel Feininger’s paintings of the 1920’s have been influential; this artist once credited the composer Bach as being his “master in painting”. Feininger was a musician and composer and became part of the staff at the Bauhaus, as was Johannes Itten. The latter painted a myriad of sumptuous, colourful, Cubist influenced compositions where, on closer viewing, structures appear from the miasma of colour.
Neil’s inspiration is summed up in the following statement “Fundamentally my interest is dominated by landscape, the way we perceive it and the effect it has upon us. Structure is usually a trigger, natural or man-made but until relatively recently, I had never considered wind turbines, although now a familiar part of the Welsh landscape, to be of interest artistically. The first notable encounter I had with them was in the mountains where three wind generators danced together, their blades crossing making beautiful rhythmic patterns against a clear blue sky casting long shadows that flashed mesmerically across the hillside. It was at this moment they became of real interest to me. Making detailed drawings of such huge structures proved to be problematic, when close enough to see detail the perspective was completely unsuitable for my compositional ideas. I therefore had to borrow telephoto lenses and work from secondary source material. The scientific evidence on global warming/climate change is unequivocal and renewable energy must be the way forward, but I also realise that great sensitivity should be employed as to the location of installations and that the health of our planet must take priority over the greed and profiteering of huge multinational companies”.
The landscape, even in West Wales, features elements of today’s world. Wind turbines and farms, pylons, television masts and other technical devices. Neil, in surrealist mode, converts and beautifies them into sculptures. As he states, “As predominantly a landscape painter, I am interested in all its aspects. Obviously, the beauty and grandeur of the unspoilt areas in Wales and beyond would be the place where one would choose to spend more time, but often there can be great interest in vistas that some would dismiss as being unsightly or even ugly. The steel works at Port Talbot silhouetted against an evening sky can look both menacing and magnificent, as can other industrial and agricultural structures. From standing stones through thousands of years of ‘progress’ to phone masts and satellite dishes we don’t need to look very far to see the impact that humans have had on, under and above the surface of our world. Artists have taken inspiration from the past, the present and with some imagination the future of our surroundings. Sometimes the results are pleasing and sometimes they might challenge or even offend the viewer. Long may it remain so!”
Neil’s oeuvre is predominantly executed in watercolour, but his work is not what one usually expects from that medium, as he uses it in a very personal way to express his surroundings and the emotional responses it brings about. His work is wide ranging, encompassing interpretations of topographical elements as well as architectural features. His personal perception of the landscape is fired by a deep, intense investigation of what lies beneath and beyond, a kind of artist’s autopsy, as if to expose its inner life or very genesis. The contemplative nature of his paintings ignites the viewer’s own personal stream of memory. He is able to crystalise what seems to be fractured light, with its mosaic effect, into a tapestry of atmospheric imagery. Unsurprisingly an element of Art Deco, especially its geometric aspect, seeps into his paintings, as Neil and Jill are avid collectors of that period’s furniture and ceramics.
Many of Neil’s paintings are fugues, choral pieces, hymns, and joyous odes to the environs around his home in Borth. His coastal views of the area evoke emotional responses, as they conjure up personal memories for many who are familiar with the locations. His subtle sophisticated palette of soft greys, yellows, blues and greens now include brighter and richer colours. This provides a further dynamic akin to faceted gemstones or stained-glass windows. The painting Silence, Sea and Sky, depicts the coastal pathway north from Wallog to Borth, wherein the vivid colour of sunset is reflected onto cliffs and crags forming a jewelled spectacle, with sections of bright yellow denoting gorse that grows along paths bordered by green hued fields. The overall effect induces reveries as they unleash a tsunami of recollections. A poem by Michelle “A Walk Along the Coast” that appeared in Sept/Oct edition of Art Etcetera sums up these feelings.
The versatility of Neil’s modus operandi is utilised to compose his topographical representations of different landscapes – rural, urban, and industrial. His architectonic paintings are a triumph, whether they are scenes from Manchester, Germany, Greece or Wales. His take on the Welsh landscape is a milestone, as like Eleri Mills, it is much subtler, softer and more tender than some other artists whose depictions are heavy and gloomy. There is a loving concord between this artist and the landscape that elides harshness creating ethereal vistas. Neil’s compositional template enables him to infuse all his subject matter with a celebratory harmonious grandeur.
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