Middlebury, VT DUNCAN JOHNSON Wooden Weavings
Duncan Johnson scours the landfill in White River Junction in Vermont searching for discarded pieces of wood— some still in perfectly usable condition and others that have lost all hope of practical purpose but hold the artist’s fascination in some way. “Intrinsically it’s just very interesting material. It has so much history, texture and color,” says Johnson. “I love the fact that it’s discarded, so it feels like I’m
saving it and discovering it at the same time.” The artist, who comes from a background of three-dimensional sculpture, creates wall art made by stacking reclaimed wood in various patterns, often appearing to be woven together like threads.
“When I first started doing it in 2009, I was really fascinated by this space. They seemed to be neither painting nor sculpture,” he says. “Now I don’t even think about it. It’s just what I do...Painting is just all-encompassing now, [and] it seems like those traditional boundaries have blurred.”
An upcoming show at Edgewater Gallery’s On the Green location highlights Johnson’s continuous journey working with reclaimed wood. He says, “I’m continuing to evolve with it. Currently, I’ve added some background colors to move it along technically, to take new paths with it.”
Johnson adds that while most people assume he paints the wood, 99 percent of his work is all found colors. “I’m still fully invested in using them as is, but at the same time, I’m interested in adding color.”
“His use of reclaimed wood suggests roughness and randomness, yet his pieces are complex, intricate and meticulously constructed,” says Edgewater Gallery director Theresa Harris.
The artist’s most recent Tartan series, which he began about three years ago, takes very small, individual scraps of wood and stacks them together in a fashion akin to a crisscrossing tartan pattern. Johnson says he was inspired to start the series when he would take the little scraps that came from ripping wood with the table saw and started stacking them in interesting ways. Tartan #3, one of the earliest of this series, is an elaborate amalgamation of colors like a tartan rainbow.
“I think it’s good to have structure. It gives us meaning and direction, but I do feel kind of constricted by it sometimes,” says Johnson, who looks for freedom in his expression as an artist.
The show will be on display for the month of July with an opening reception July 5 from 5 to 7 p.m.