A quintessentially Los Angeles artist, Larry Johnson has worked for over 4 decades investigating the inherent contradictions between the shiny surfaces and underlying cynical logics of American culture. His works reference the languages of animation (especially the fantasy worlds of Walt Disney), graphic and commercial design, and advertising. Often employing cryptographic systems of communication relying on multi-entendre layers of image and text, Johnson’s humorous and often cutting commentaries on his own culture’s exported ideologies have made him one of the foremost artists of his generation. His work has been shown and is held in prominent institutions and collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and MAMCO, Geneva among others.
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SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020 Made in L.A. 2020: a version, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2016 MAMCO, Geneva, Switzerland
2015 On Location, Raven Row, London, UK
2013 The Perfect Show, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
2009 Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Collection: MOCA's First Thirty Years, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Sign Language, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
1991 Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
1990 The Indomitable Spirit, International Center of Photography, New York, NY
1989 California Photography: Remaking Make-Believe, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY;
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
1988 Aperto 88, XLIII Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
1987 On View, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
The Castle, Documenta 8, Kassel, Germany
PUBLIC AND MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
MAMCO, Geneva, Switzerland
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Whitney Museum, New York, NY