Tim Johnson

By David Tanner

      Style trumps pretty much everything except aesthetics according to artist Tim Johnson. It's an adage clearly manifested in the 33 pieces that comprise his current show at Fort Wayne's Kachmann Gallery, 1301 Lafayette Street.

      These mostly large, always imposing, oil images make up a sort of travelogue of sights, scenes and architecture painted on sites that vary from the Lake Michigan shoreline to the Louisiana countryside to the northern Italy lake country all the way to the Mediterranean coastline of southern France, where the artist now makes his home.

      Sumptuously stroked, Johnson's expressionist effigies attest to an eye trained in its focus and tempered by captured light. His skies seem drawn from the same color vat as the firmament, and he latches onto diffused rays that reflect water. To gain his perspective he might sit plein air along a street or along a rural, countryside lane. In Europe his easel and chair might be accompanied by a bottle of his favorite wine. Other vistas, accessible only from the water, are realized from various watercraft: a borrowed boat in Michigan, a rented Italian skiff or from the deck of his own motor launch in the waters off Cannes.

      Not exactly a vagabond without roots, the 51-year-old Johnson was born and raised in Fort Wayne and for the last decade has made his home, along with his wife Catherine and their son, eight-year-old John-Baptiste, in the south of France near Cannes. Nurtured in the fine arts by his father, "Whitey," himself an artist and art teacher, the younger Johnson studied at the former Saint Francis College and the Fort Wayne Art Institute before earning degrees at Indiana University in Bloomington and Bowling Green State University.

      As romantic as his life and work may appear to us stay-at-homes, the ruggedly handsome Johnson remains a hard working, down-to-earth Yankee, sans any faux pretenses. Aside from a velour Givenchy jacket and Gucci loafers, appropriate wear for a gallery opening, he's most comfortable in jeans and a ragged-at-the-edge T-shirt. He relates, however, that with the current growing backlash against American foreign policy it can be difficult to be an American amongst his European associates.

      "I've, of necessity, grown thick skinned of late to deal with the anti-Americanism. You simply have to to be able to deal in the real world. Things have become ever so complex," he mused recently over a huge bowl of noodle soup at the Saigon, his favorite local restaurant.

      "Even the simple things. For example, it gets harder and harder to go back to the Uffizi gallery in Florence where they've put plexi-glass over some of the most precious artwork. I was forced to get used to it with the Mona Lisa, but now it's becoming commonplace, and you can imagine how it is for a painter who wants to examine such masterworks up close – having to dodge the reflections to peer through the protective plastic packaging."

      He can also get a bit edgy when talk turns to wine. "Some things that pass for being good wine in the States would be vin ordinaire or vin militaire in France. I'm in no way a true connoisseur, but there is such a thing as good taste."

      Yes, Johnson has picked up a fair amount of French. He is a licensed antique dealer and negotiates for his commercial framing business in several continental languages. He's particularly proud of the marine navigation license needed to operate his boat, which he received after passing a 200-question test, given in French.

      And when it comes to good taste in any language you have to consider Johnson's paintings almost in the same breath as their unique and often magnificent frames. Complementary as they are, they never upstage his paintings, though it's hard not to notice a vintage 18th century hand-carved, gilded frame.

      "I was alert and lucky enough to notice a potential market for these unique antique frames a few years back," Johnson relates. "The workmanship and artistry is [sic] pretty extraordinary when you consider they were done with basic tooling. Some are signed by the craftsman, and it can be a special thing to behold once you realize it is a 300-year-old object you're admiring.

      "Like any other business or line of work, it can be tough and time-consuming. Not every find can be authentic, but I've developed a string of dealers who are attuned to what I'm after, and I'm always improving my negotiating skills."

      Returning to his paintings, it's amazing how consistent his style has become since his last local show nearly three years ago. He really does stamp our ticket on this scenic tour de force. Missing, however, is an audio accompaniment to provide the background and setting for some of these pieces.

      For example in one of the highlight works (there are actually a pair of them), Prison de Masque de Fer. The paintings are of the prison which housed the Man in the Iron Mask, out of which came Alexandre Dumas' novel of the same name. It's a work that begs for explanation.

      Every picture tells a story, it is said, and Johnson's current collection – whether in frame or image – abounds in them. The artist makes a wonderful guide, and his stories, at least the ones we can print, make for a rewarding excursion.

Copyright 2005 Ad Media Inc.