Josh Johnson Sculpture

Minnesota artist presents abstract sculptures at Ipso Gallery in Gourley Building

Known for sculpting with pink foam insulation, glue and wood, Minneapolis artist Josh Johnson is in town Friday to show his latest creations.

Johnson's show "Hunch" opens 6-8 p.m. Friday at Ipso Gallery, 400 N. Main Ave. He'll give a talk at 7 p.m.

"Some people look down on pink foam as a basic material used by beginning students," Johnson, 30, said by phone earlier this week. "But I like it. It's easy to manipulate, you can work quickly with it and finished work is light and easy to move around. It's pretty practical."

A piece he calls "Surrogate," shown with this story, is "kind of abstract" but resembles a tree branch. Other pieces in the show are more representational, he says, including one that looks like an old wooden school desk. He calls that one "Dream Catcher" and suspends the piece from the ceiling.

Another is a wall-mounted collection of several smaller pieces grouped together, reproductions of his great-grandfather's ornate wooden handsaw handles. He adds a few of his grandfather's and father's, too.

Johnson was among 30 artists at the Washington Pavilion's "Take The Day" event in November. He and others began working on their pieces in the morning and finished by evening.

Johnson was born and raised in the lakes region of west central Minnesota. He earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2004 from the University of North Dakota with an emphasis on sculpture, then studied sculpture for a year at the University of South Dakota with instructor and sculptor Chris Meyer.

"I think that most of Josh's work is highly formal and non-objective in nature," Meyer said Monday.

"I feel that there is a personal meaning behind the work that functions as the impetus for the pieces," Meyer said. "Josh takes materials out of context by assigning them different functions and does a great job of exploring the vast possibilities of his chosen materials."

Meyer likes to see more contemporary work being exhibited in the region. Johnson left USD to earn his master's of fine arts degree last year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

"We are proud to be the first South Dakota venue to host a show for Josh Johnson," said Liz Heeren, director of Ipso Gallery.

The show's name "Hunch" describes the direction of his artwork.

"Lately, I'm kind of working off of a gut feeling or instinct, like I'm trusting in my own skills, trusting what I've learned and trusting that I'll make the right decisions for where I'm going."