Press for Eirik Johnson – PINE

November 1, 2018

Below is a round-up of press for Eirik Johnson’s exhibit PINE

Eirik Johnson, ZOO, 2013, archival pigment print, 40 x 96 inches, framed, edition of 3, $10,500.

Eirik Johnson, ZOO, 2013, archival pigment print, 40 x 96 inches, framed, edition of 3, $10,500.

 

Photograph: EIRIK JOHNSON: PINE AT G. GIBSON GALLERY, SEATTLE
by Jon Feinstein 
(in print Jan/Feb 2019)

Crosscut: In Seattle galleries, art meets climate change: Environmental anxiety abounds in paintings, photos and film
by Brangien Davis / November 20, 2018

Seattle Magazine: 15 Best Things To Do in Seattle in November 2018
by Gavin Borchert
PHOTOGRAPHY: Eirik Johnson: Pine
Through 12/1
Before there were selfies or social media—centuries before—carving words, or even just your initials, into a tree was one way to assert your presence in a medium that would presumably outlast you. It’s still a popular act, as Johnson shows in his shots of these enigmatic memorabilia—collected first in a book, Pine, and now in this exhibit.
Free. Times vary. G. Gibson Gallery, Lower Queen Anne, 104 W Roy St.; 206.587.4033

Crosscut: 8 things to do in Seattle: November 1, 2018
by Michael Upchurch
The Seattle photographer, best known for his candid shots of makeshift dwellings, takes a striking and curious turn in his new show, Pine. In these archival pigment prints and LED-lightbox-illuminated archival transparencies, the focus is on messages carved in tree bark that, in Johnson’s words, “conjure up sentiments of love, alienation, or even the most basic desire to declare, ‘I was here. See for yourself!’” Some images boast strange, saturated stained-glass hues while others are deliberately bleached out, rendering their messages almost illegible. A short film about his process reveals he uses firework sparklers to achieve his unusual effects. Music is a key part of Pine, and a beautiful catalog for the show, published by Minor Matters Books, comes with a vinyl LP featuring tunes by Johnson, Tenderfoot, SassyBlack, artist Whiting Tennis and others. The funniest and most anomalous piece in show, “Make Out Tree,” is a pink neon sign pointing toward a woodsy rendezvous spot. —M.U.
If you go: G. Gibson Gallery through Dec. 1

The Trees Give Up Their Secrets
by Amanda Manitach, June 26, 2018

Photographer Eirik Johnson captures raw memory carved into tree trunks.
by Jon Feinstein for VICE, may 22, 2018