Tracey Johnson exhibits at the LofTT

TRACEY Johnson dares “not to please” at her solo exhibition I Went for a Drive and Never Came Back.

Johnson’s largely surreal pieces are currently featured at the LofTT Gallery on Rosalino Street, Woodbrook.

The exhibition opened on October 6 and will close on October 20, if the 18 or so remaining pieces are not yet sold.

“These are all genuine paintings,” Johnson told Sunday Newsday.

“They are not paintings on top of photos. I use photos as a reference, which I take myself."

Johnson works exclusively with oil paint on canvas. She describes her technique as a blend of photorealism, abstraction, impressionism and surrealism.

“This art is about the journey forward in life, which often requires a journey backwards. It is my desire to create meaningful art that may inspire insights about oneself.”

Many of her pieces reflect the Trinidad and Tobago experience; some are more abstract than others.

A number of the photos she used as inspiration, then embellished, date from several decades ago. Others are more recent. They all, in one way or another, transform what would have otherwise been mundane images of everyday life into bursting, exaggerated colours, surrounding what in many cases have been made into human caricatures. A few undoubtedly leave the viewer with lingering and even troubling questions, none of which Johnson says she's prepared to answer to anyone's complete satisfaction.

Some of the elaborate pieces span canvases as large as 36 by 48 inches. The prices range from around $3,000-$12,000, and average around $6,000.

The two-week exhibition included an “artist talk,” which was scheduled for Saturday.
It is open from 10am-6pm from Tuesday-Friday and 10am-4pm on Saturday.

Johnson worked briefly at an advertising agency when she returned to Trinidad after doing her bachelor of fine arts degree at the Ontario College of Arts and Design University.

The mother of three, she enjoyed a reconnection to her passion for art as her children got older. She has held ten or so exhibitions in the past.

Johnson says her pieces are “not necessarily for everyone” – nor are they intended to convey the same message to everyone.

“There is no explicit meaning,” she said. “Your interpretation is a reflection of your own beliefs of yourself.”

However, there is an implicit message to the theme. I Went for a Drive and Never Came Back "is about my growth and unlearning certain behaviours.”

Johnson told Sunday Newsday her perspective on art has shifted in recent years. She is now far more concerned with “self discovery” through her art rather than seeking the approval of others.

She often reminds herself and fellow painters that “an artist really only discovers their true genius when they dare not to please.”