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Matt Johnson (b. 1978, New York, NY) received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD and his MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Johnson’s work investigates the human desire to interact with the given world through science, mathematics, religion, art, and architecture. His exploration points to our inherent need to connect with the cosmos, our desire to understand it, and our attempts to manipulate it. The work uncovers poetry by accessing the potential of familiar objects, sometimes rendered via classical modes. Johnson’s instinctive humor and ongoing appreciation of art history are played out in materials both modern and timeless. Johnson completed a residency at Fondazione Antonio Ratti, Como, Italy in 2002. His work has been celebrated in recent group exhibitions such as The Artist is Present, curated by Maurizio Cattelan, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China (2018); 99 Cents or Less, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI (2017); Wanderlust, High Line Art, New York, NY (2016); Funny, FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY (2012); Lifelike, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; traveled to New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, TX (2012); 11th Triennale Kleinplastik, Fellbach, Germany (2010); and Second Nature, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2009); among many others. His works are held in public collections worldwide including the Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway; Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. Johnson's work is permanently on view as part of the collection at MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA.
