Pasadena, CA—An exhibition of rarely seen works on paper and sculpture by acclaimed Los Angeles artist Ynez Johnston (b. 1920) will be presented at the Norton Simon Museum from April 2 through August 23, 2004.  The Magical Worlds of Ynez Johnston features more than 30 watercolor paintings, etchings and lithographs from 1950 through 1970 in the Museum’s permanent collections, as well as four recent bronze sculptures from the 1980s and 1990s.  The exhibition is the Norton Simon Museum’s first major exhibition of Johnston’s art—several of the works on view have never been publicly shown, and many others have not been displayed at the Museum in 40 years. 

THE EXHIBITION

Johnston’s rich and intricate compositions are worlds within themselves.  Her extensive travels are reflected in her imagery, comprising royal kingdoms, elaborate cities, mythological creatures, symbols and human forms.  Johnston weaves elements from numerous cultural traditions and time periods into complex works of art.  Citing Pre-Columbian stone carvings, Tibetan, Indian and Persian art as influences, as well as the architecture of Gaudi and the cubist works of Picasso and Braque, Johnston’s art combines the mythical with the architectural and the known with the unknown. 

The Magical Worlds of Ynez Johnston presents three major print series created by Johnston.  The first is a series of color etchings completed in 1958, titled Travels of the Sage Narada, which features poetry by her late husband, poet and novelist, John Berry.  The second and third series on view, titled Voyages and Black Pagoda, represent the artist’s first experiments with the medium of lithography.  Both series were completed in 1966 at the famed Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles.  Examples of her watercolors and other graphics, dating from 1952-1970, as well four recent bronze sculptures dating from 1987 to 1999, complete the exhibition.

All of the works in the exhibition reveal Johnston’s unique and fascinating artistic style.   Both Storm at Sea, an etching from1955, and the lithograph The Black Pagoda III, 1966, demonstrate her characteristic use of vital and dazzling colors.  Exhibition visitors can also
 
see works like Square with Monuments, 1952, an etching that exemplifies the artist’s use of mythic shapes and imaginary urban landscapes. 

An illustrated brochure accompanies the exhibition. 

YNEZ JOHSTON

A painter, sculptor and printmaker, Ynez Johnston’s distinguished career has spanned 60 years.  Born in Berkeley, California in 1920, Johnston’s art has been exhibited worldwide and can be found in the collections of many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  The artist continues to work in her home and studio in Mt. Washington in Los Angeles, where she has lived for more than 40 years.

RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING

Lecture
Ynez Johnston: Travels with the Prince
Gerald Nordland, Author and Independent Curator
Friday, April 30, 7:00

In conjunction with the Museum's exhibit The Magical Worlds of Ynez Johnston, Gerald Nordland gives an in-depth look at the work and career of the Los Angeles-based artist.  The Museum's collection of works on paper by Johnston is discussed and related to other paintings and sculpture from her 60 years of art making.  Gerald Nordland is a distinguished art professional and authored the first major monograph on Ynez Johnston in 1996.

The Norton Simon Museum

The Norton Simon Museum is known around the world as one of the most remarkable private art collections ever assembled.  The Museum features a particularly celebrated Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection, with paintings by Manet, Renoir, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Cézanne. In addition, there are 20th-century works by Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Klee, Kandinsky and the German Expressionists.  Complementing the Western art is an outstanding collection of Asian sculpture from India and Southeast Asia spanning a period of 2000 years. 

The Norton Simon Museum is located in Pasadena on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards at the intersection of the Foothill (210) and Ventura (134) freeways. The Museum is open every day except Tuesday, from 12 noon to 6:00 p.m., and 12 noon to 9:00 p.m. on Friday.  Admission is $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors. Members, students with I.D. and patrons ages 18 and under are admitted free of charge. Admission is free for all visitors the first Friday of every month from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Museum is wheelchair accessible.  Free parking is available and no reservations are necessary.  For Museum information, please call (626) 449-6840 or visit www.nortonsimon.org.