Johnna Arnold

Energy and Form

March 3 - April 12th

Opening: March 3rd, 5-8pm

In her second solo exhibition at Sarah Shepard Gallery, Bay Area artist Johnna Arnold has created 13 new pieces made between New York and the Bay Area. Featuring unique photograms, mixed media photographs and unique oil resistance prints, Arnold builds upon her thinking in the series, From Inside This Earth, (2019, again taping into the material that drives much of our civilization - motor oil. In Energy and Form, Arnold created unique C-prints by enlarging individual samples of used motor oil. In some images Arnold combined Oil with materials that speak to the interwoven web of energy around us, while in others she created forms within the images of Oil itself. To amplify the infinite interconnections between forms, Arnold weaves iridescent thread into the surface of select pieces, drawing attention to shape, texture, and line. Pointing to the interconnections highlighted through globalization, Arnold made three new pieces with crude oil mail-ordered from Azerbaijan. The Oil was transferred onto paper in a technique based on the perpetual resistance of oil and water. Re-contextualizing and acknowledging the transformational nature of Oil in our daily lives is integral to establishing a new appreciation for all the earth provides.