Visibility: Seeing and Being Seen
Curated by Delita Martin
Artist:
Social media: @solesisterart
Website: www.solesisterart.com
Exhibition
Visibility: Seeing and Being Seen
About the Artist
Born in London, England and raised in Cheyenne, WY, Ann Johnson is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, (where she now teaches) and received a BS in Home Economics. She has also received an MA in Humanities from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, as well as an MFA from The Academy of Art University, in San Francisco with a concentration in printmaking. In 2010 she received the Teaching Excellence Award at Prairie View A&M University. She was awarded Art teacher of the year in the School of Architecture in 2010, 2017 and 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2011 she received the distinguished Presidents Faculty of the Year award. Primarily an interdisciplinary artist, Johnson’s passion for exploring issues particularly in the Black community has led her to create series of works that are evocative and engaging such as The Hoop Dreamin Collection. A series of decorative basketball goals that explore the social issue of a Hoop Dream. The series, It Is the Not Knowing That Burns My Soul, is an investigation of exploratory mixed media works that examine the “Black Indian”. The latter was included in an exhibition and catalog for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian titled: Indivisible. Her series Converse: Real Talk has been exhibited at Women and Their Work in Austin, TX, Deborah Colton Gallery in Houston, TX, The Kansas City Art Institute, and The Community Art Center in Syracuse, NY, and was a part of the inaugural SculptTexas exhibition series. In 2024 she was an Artadia Finalist. Johnson has been an invited resident at: Tougaloo Art Colony in Jackson, MS in 2009, 2011 and 2015, Project Row Houses in Houston, TX, 2008, 2012, 2022, The Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA 2022, The Plains Fine Art Museum in Fargo, ND, 2022, The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 2023. She was the resident guest artist at Kansas City Art Institute in 2023. Johnson was a Contemporary Arts Houston CAMLAB 2023 Artist in Residence in collaboration with the Freedmen’s Town Conservancy. She was a Prize winner in Houston’s “The Big Show” in 2004 and was the Mixed Media winner in the Carroll Harris Simms National Black Art Competition in 2007. Johnson was also included in the Texas Biennial in 2013, and 2021. She has received grants and fellowships from Texas Vignette, Dallas, TX, The Priscilla Art, Dallas, TX, and a Mellon Grant from Prairie View A&M University, and the BANF Bipoc Artist Network Fund. In 2015 she was acknowledged as an “Artist to Watch” in the International Review of African American Art and is a member of the Bearden 100 (honoring artist Romare Bearden). She is a member of the ROUX Collective and is co-founder of the organization PrintMatters and PrintHouston. She has exhibited at The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX, The Contemporary Art Museum Houston, The Museum of Printing History. Ruby City, San Antonio, TX, Project Row Houses, Houston, TX, Tisdale Beach Institute, Savannah, GA, Charles H. Wright Museum, Flint, MI, The High Point Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis, MN, The 2016 Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, PA, Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem, NY, and The California African American Art Museum in Los Angeles, CA. Johnson has written articles for Uppercase and School Arts magazine (Davis). She has written and designed a number of books including I’ll Fly Away (Solefolio Press @magcloud.com), Bās (Solefolio Press @magcloud.com), Paper & Ink (blurb.com), ROUX (blurb.com), Craft$ For the No Budget Art Teacher (Solefolio Press @createpace.com), Unapologetic and STIR (Solefolio Press@magcloud.com). In 2023 Johnson was listed as one of the most transformative artists of the year by Black Art In America. Johnson earned the name Sole Sister because she paints portraits with her feet. Yes, her feet. Ann ‘Sole Sister’ Johnson aspires to leave a legacy of challenging and thought-provoking work that will entice the viewer and inspire younger artists. Johnson is represented by Hooks Epstein Gallery in Houston, TX, and Spillman Blackwell Fine Art in New Orleans, LA.
SEEDED
Color intaglio on bonded cotton with stained cowrie shells discovered blacksmith nails from the Seward Plantation, Independence, TX
8″ x 10”
2022
CHATTEL
Intaglio on raw cotton in glass box, transfer print on wood cube and plantation cotton bolls
6″ x 13″ x 6”
2023
JOSIE
Intaglio on raw cotton
4.5″ x 6.5”
2023
BLUE SOLE
Color intaglio on bonded cotton
5″ x 7”
CONVERSE REAL TALK, est. 2015
Intaglio on Sycamore leaves, emboss
Installation: Size Varied
CONVERSE REAL TALK, est. 2015 Intaglio on Sycamore leaves, emboss Installation: Size Varied
CONVERSE REAL TALK, est. 2015
Intaglio on Sycamore leaves,
emboss
Installation: Size Varied
NESTING: Gregory School
Intaglio on Sycamore leaf, raffia, grapevine nest
10” in diameter
2023
WORN OUT
Transfer print on vintage ironing board
13″ x 54″ x 1.5″
2023
GHOST OF GENTRIFICATION
Transfer print on formed concrete
20″ x 20”
2023
CHARONDA 5TH GENERATION & RAY
Transfer Print on formed concrete, Kozo, cotton bolls
20″ x 20″ x 1”
2024