Claudette Johnson

Claudette Elaine Johnson is a renowned British visual artist celebrated for her large-scale drawings depicting Black women and her significant contributions to the BLK Art Group.

Biography of Claudette Johnson

Born in Manchester, UK, Claudette Johnson pursued her education in Fine Art at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. During her student years, she played a pivotal role as a founding member of the BLK Art Group and participated in their second exhibition at the Africa Centre in London in 1983. Notably, her presentation and seminar at the First National Black Arts Conference in 1982 are recognized as a seminal moment within the UK's Black feminist art movement.

In 1983, her work has been prominently showcased in significant group exhibitions, including "Five Black Women" at the Africa Centre Gallery in London.

In 2011, alongside Marlene Smith and Keith Piper, Johnson co-established the BLK Arts Research Group, with the aim of reevaluating the body of work and historical impact of the BLK Arts Group.

In the New Year Honours of 2022, Johnson was honored with the title of Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her contributions to the field of art.

Her recent solo exhibitions include "Claudette Johnson: Drawn Out" at Ortuzar Projects in New York (2023); "Claudette Johnson: Presence" at The Courtauld Gallery in London (2023); "Still Here" at Hollybush Gardens in London (2021); "I Came to Dance" at Modern Art Oxford in Oxford (2019), among others. 

Claudette Johnson has also presented her art in various group shows, including "Rock My Soul II (Stockholm)" at Galleri Futura in Stockholm (2022); "Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s–Now" at Tate Britain in London (2021); "From Hockney to Himid: Sixty Years of British Printmaking" at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester (2021); "Coventry Biennial 2021: HYPER-POSSIBLE" at  Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry (2021); "Close: Drawn Portraits" at The Drawing Room in London (2018), and many more.

Claudette Johnson's Art Style

Claudette Johnson's latest creations in oil, oil stick, and egg tempera resoundingly express a distinct Black presence, countering the enduring misrepresentations and omissions that obscure the Black figure in art. Departing from her traditional mediums of pastel, watercolor, and gouache, the artist infuses her life-sized paintings with a vibrant material richness, typically derived from real-life subjects.

Delving into themes of vulnerability, solace, authenticity, and empowerment, Johnson places the intricacies of human existence at the forefront of each shared encounter, affirming her subjects' inherent right to self-expression through the act of being truly seen.