The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - 237 South 18th Street, Suite 3A, Philadelphia, PA

September 28-December 15

Leroy Johnson is a mixed media artist and a native Philadelphian. Johnson was a participant and activist in the Black Arts Movement in Philadelphia in the sixties and seventies. Much of that art was concerned with the pressing social issues of the time, and jazz was seen as a structural and inspirational component in the creation of that art. Artists such as Ben Shahn and Jacob Lawrence were some who inspired Johnson with their paintings dealing with social issues. Necessity and awareness of constructivism and assemblage encouraged him in the use of found objects and materials from the urban environment to create color and texture in my work. Johnson admires the work of Thornton Dial, Lonnie Holley, and other African Americans whose art is rooted in improvisation and process. He values the urban collages of the streets of Harlem by Romare Bearden, the intense urban paintings of Beauford Delaney and the artists of the Ashcan School. Most importantly, the work of Philadelphia painter and former CFEVA Advisory Board member, Louis B. Sloan, is a great influence on Johnson.

Please email genevieve@cfeva.org to visit.