Johnnie Winona Ross: S E E P line

Brian Gross Fine Art is pleased to announce its debut exhibition of New Mexico artist Johnnie Winona Ross, opening Saturday, May 5, with a reception for the artist from 4 to 6pm.  S E E P line features six paintings that explore the subtle interplay of color, surface variation, and geometry, revealing the sensual experience of radiant color.  The exhibition will be on view through June 30, 2018. 

Comprised of alternating bands of opaque and translucent whites over vertical seeps of de-saturated color, Johnnie Winona Ross’ compositions are evocative of the geologic materiality of the American Southwest.  His paintings are delicate balancing acts of painterly abstraction, combining structure and evanescent color to form surfaces of supple, luminous intensity.  Ross creates his compositions through the application of hundreds of layers of pigments and paint that are then meticulously burnished smooth with a potter’s stone and polished to a dull luster.  The resulting surfaces simultaneously dissolve visually to reveal the power of pure color, while boldly asserting their physical presence.  Working in the lineage of minimalism, Ross has pushed the boundaries of painting into new territory though his use of materials to transcend the physical. 

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Johnnie Winona Ross studied painting at Washington University in St. Louis and later received his MFA from the University of Illinois in 1973.  After graduating, Ross taught for 22 years at the Maine College of Art, Portland, ME.  In 1995 he received an International Individual Support Grant from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation.

Immediately after receiving his MFA, Johnnie Winona Ross had his first one-person exhibition at the Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi in 1974.  Since then, Ross has regularly participated in solo and group exhibitions across the United States.  Ross’ paintings can be found numerous private and public collections, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, OH; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM; University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM; Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM; Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM; Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM; Roswell Museum of Art, Roswell, NM; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME; Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO; Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, NM; and Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonbuk, Korea, among others.  Johnnie Winona Ross lives and works in northern New Mexico.