ABOUT
art statement
One of my earliest ecstatic memories as a child is sitting alone in a sea grape tree. I held the branches, listening and observing, and suddenly became one with the tree: the warm breeze in my face, the slight vibration of leaves, a nearby mockingbird singing its endless song. My artwork is a manifestation of experiences discovered during deep immersion in nature. The repository of color, form, pattern, texture and quality of light are imprinted upon my subconscious and translate into subtle layers of meaning. My emotional state drives the artistic journey forward.
My current work is mixed-media analog and digital assemblage. My practice mimics the natural cycles of creation and destruction. Each artwork originates as memory where I process raw emotion. Recycled and salvaged fabrics, junk mail, packaging, discarded books, letters, old drawings and paintings are deconstructed to build collage. The resulting abstracted forms are born as new realities.The cycle continues as these works are digitized, manipulated, cut apart and re-imagined as continuations of previous works.
My world-view is one that respects organic processes, intuition and collaboration, celebration of diversity and holistic connections.
My artwork holds a mirror to those values.
artist bio
Johanna Porter was born and raised in Miami, FL. She is a self-taught digital artist. She received a BFA in Graphic Design from University of North Florida in 1985. Her career includes three decades working as a graphic artist, illustrator and art director. In 2019 she moved her studio, PICTURESWITHIN, from South Florida to the Pacific Northwest. Johanna returned to her roots as a visual artist, creating work that is more relevant to her personal growth.
As an emerging artist, Johanna has exhibited her art in galleries across the nation and has been awarded public art commissions in the states of Washington and Arizona. She collaborated with a digital animator, co-creating two animated short films that were screened at Buoyant Theater, Redmond Downtown Park in 2021 and 2022. In 2021 Johanna was selected by the City of Redmond, WA to participate in the Public Art Eastside Cohort. In 2022 the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture awarded Johanna an ArtistsUp! scholarship to further her career as a visual and public artist. In 2022 Johanna won a Silver Independent Publisher (IPPY) Award for the crowd-funded, self-published art and poetry book TNTRK.
artist cv
PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS
2023
Together Center, “Pollinator”, public art for social services community center, Redmond WA
City of Renton Municipal Arts Commission, “Go With the Flow”, public art for utility box vinyl wrap, Renton WA
Fountain Hills Cultural & Civic Assoc., “We Stand As One”, digital mural for Pump House Pilot Program, Fountain Hills, AZ
2022
City of Redmond, Arts and Culture, public art commission for animated short film “WISH”, Redmond WA
2021
City of Redmond, Arts and Culture, public art commission for animated short film “The Light of Things”, Redmond WA
City of Kent Arts Commission, public art commission for traffic controller box, Kent WA
2019
City of Issaquah Arts Commission, public art commission for traffic controller box, Issaquah WA
PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS
2022
“The Building Blocks of Community”, Seattle Design Festival, Center on Contemporary Art installation collaborator,
South Lake Union Park, Seattle WA
“The Language of Flowers”, Duvall Days Festival, Duvall WA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
"Transitory Nature", Thomas Architecture Studios, Olympia WA
2022
"Solo Expo", Lysd’OrArt.blogspot.com, Italy
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
“Artful Stories & Community Narratives”, curated group exhibit, Sammamish City Hall Commons Gallery, Sammamish WA
“City of Bothell 2023-2024 Gallery Roster”, curated group exhibit, animated short film “The Light of Things”, Bothell WA
2022
"For the Voices of Women", curated group exhibit, Studio 103, Seattle WA
"Pluralism", curated members' group exhibit, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle WA
“Calm, Centered, Awake”, curated time-based art group exhibit, Sanctuary Studios, Seattle WA
“FIFTY: An Alumni Exhibition”, invitational group exhibit, Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville FL
"Annual Members Exhibit", regional group exhibit, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle WA
“Art of the Garden”, regional group exhibit, Schack Art Center, Everett WA
"Kent Summer Art Exhibition", regional curated group exhibit, Centennial Center Gallery, Kent WA
"The Art of Water", curated online group exhibit, TheArtofWater.global
2021
“Creative and Resilient”, national juried group exhibit, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Port Angeles WA
"Marking Lives Covid-19", international online memorial art group exhibit, ElizabethAwalt.com
“Fear in Technicolor”, regional curated online group exhibit, The Anxious Tomato, Tacoma WA
"SchacktoberFest”, regional group exhibit, Schack Art Center, Everett WA
“ 2021 Virtual Juried Art Exhibit”, regional online juried group exhibit, Shoreline Arts Festival, Shoreline WA
“Botanical Art & Illustration”, curated online group exhibit, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach CA
2020
"Embracing Our Differences", international group art billboard exhibit, Bayfront Park, Sarasota FL
“Windows Into the World”, international online group exhibit, Chico Art Center, Chico CA
“Artists in Their Residence”, national online group exhibit, Firehouse Art Center, Longmont CO
"Corona Portrait Project", national curated online group exhibit, CoronaPortrait.com
2019
“Cover These Walls”, national group exhibit, Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes CA
“SchacktoberFest”, regional group exhibit, Schack Art Center, Everett WA
“Memories”, national group exhibit, 2019 Roslyn Art Festival, Roslyn WA
“Combined Talents”, national group exhibit, FSU Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee FL
“Pinnacle National Juried Art Competition”, national group exhibit, Foster-Tanner Fine Arts Gallery, Tallahassee FL
2018
“Social Code”, juried group exhibit, Delray Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach FL
HONORS + AWARDS
2022
Artists Up! Mentorship Scholarship, awarded by 4Culture/Seattle Office of Arts & Culture/ArtsWA
IPPY Silver Award for self-published poetry and art book “TNTRK”, Independent Publisher Book Awards
2021
Public Art Intensive Eastside Cohort, selected by the City of Redmond Arts and Culture Commission
2019
Roslyn Art Festival, Second Place Award
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2023
Clamor!, University of Washington Bothell art and literature magazine, 2023 edition
2022
Defunkt, art and literature magazine- cover artist, Spring edition
Salann Magazine- 2nd edition
Beyond Words, art and literature journal, June issue
Beyond Words, art and literature journal, April issue
Beyond Words, art and literature journal, March issue
2021
Subjectiv, art and literature journal, November 2021
2019
Peripheral Arteries Biennial, Summer/volume 50
Art Ascent, Silver Artist, “Beauty” edition
EDUCATION
1985
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design, University of North Florida