Peter Selz (left) and Mitchell Johnson, 2009. Palo Alto.
Mitchell Johnson’s paintings have appeared in ARTnews, Art in America, the NY Times Magazine, American Artist, Oprah’s Next Chapter, The Mindy Project, Southwest Art, San Francisco Magazine, Provincetown Arts, Cape Arts Review, Sunset Magazine, Gentry, The Huffington Post, American Contemporary Art, and many feature films including The Holiday (2006), It’s Complicated (2009), The Lodger (2009), and Crazy Stupid Love (2011). Based in Silicon Valley, Mitchell Johnson moved to California in 1990 after completing his MFA at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Johnson was heavily influenced by his NY teachers Paul Resika, Leland Bell, Larry Rivers, Robert DeNiro, Sr., John Heliker and Nell Blaine – many former students of Hans Hofmann. Johnson divides his time between his California studio and his favorite painting locations in Italy, France, Cape Cod and Denmark. His paintings can be found in over 700 collections including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum at Pepperdine, New Britain Museum of American Art and the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC. Johnson’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Helena, Portland, New York, Oakland, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Washington, DC and Kansas City. He is represented by I. Wolk Gallery, Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley, Res/Ipsa Gallery, Schoolhouse Gallery and FilmArt LA. All thirteen of his publications are for sale at Amazon.com. He is married to the writer, Donia Bijan.
EDUCATION
Staten Island Academy, 1975-1979
Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA; B.S. 1986
-Studied with Ray Berry
Washington Studio School, Washington, D.C., 1987-88
-Studied with Jo Weiss, Lee Newman, Jack Boul and David Holt
Parsons School of Design, New York City; M.F.A. 1990
-Studied w/ Paul Resika, Leland Bell, John Heliker, Robert DeNiro, Sr., Nell Blaine
and Larry Rivers
Studio Assistant to Abram Schlemowitz, New York, NY, 1989-90
Studio Assistant to Sam Francis, Palo Alto, CA, 1990-91
Santa Fe Art Institute with Wolf Kahn, Santa Fe, NM, 1992
New York Studio School Drawing Marathon with Graham Nickson, 2000