Bio
Kristina Johnson (KJ) is an artist, curator, and small business owner from Minnesota. She graduated with a BFA in Studio Fine Art from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (‘17). After four years of working closely with her mentor, Jehra Patrick, KJ took over as director of Waiting Room, and established its e-commerce platform, Backroom. Since then she has produced exhibitions that explore critical questions about the relationship of art to abstraction, the environment, social concerns, political issues and theories of identity, individuation and subjectivation. Her curatorial work has been featured in Artforum Critics Picks; as well as personally featured in local Twin Cities publications such as City Pages, MNDaily and Star Tribune.
Today, Kristina works out of Minneapolis helping to support emerging and mid-career artists gain wider recognition for their work. She is also a frequent volunteer with The People’s Library.
Artist Statement
My artwork originated as a mechanism to cope with my mother’s chronic progressive disease (Multiple Sclerosis). I obsessively created with her image embedded as the subject; questioning how one could portray the human condition visually. The hours spent documenting her gestures shaped my practice into an intimate narrative alluding to an inextricably dark yet humorous past transfixed by the use of symbols and languages; slowly embedding pieces of my own personal history into an evolving narrative.
On one side of my family I am the great granddaughter of Edward G. Bremer, an infamously kidnapped St. Paul banker. On the other, I’m the granddaughter of two immigrants. My maternal grandfather from Norway and grandmother an Egyptian scholar. As a child, I spent summers living with my mother’s family on the Sognefjord--one of the oldest fjords in Norway. I’m inspired by my familial history and their respective cultural folkores, often searching within my personal archive for direction and inspiration.
At first glance my work looks whimsical and absurd but at its heart is deeply self-reflective. Each piece functions as a glimpse into my stream of consciousness; a tangential view of an inner life bound by the meaning of memory, language, and relationships. I scour an immense personal archive for images and materials to dissect and rebuild along with my thoughts.
On one side of my family I am the great granddaughter of Edward G. Bremer, an infamously kidnapped St. Paul banker. On the other, I’m the granddaughter of two immigrants. My maternal grandfather from Norway and grandmother an Egyptian scholar. As a child, I spent summers living with my mother’s family on the Sognefjord--one of the oldest fjords in Norway. I’m inspired by my familial history and their respective cultural folkores, often searching within my personal archive for direction and inspiration.
At first glance my work looks whimsical and absurd but at its heart is deeply self-reflective. Each piece functions as a glimpse into my stream of consciousness; a tangential view of an inner life bound by the meaning of memory, language, and relationships. I scour an immense personal archive for images and materials to dissect and rebuild along with my thoughts.
kristinajohnsonart (@) gmail.com
CV
b. 1991
She/her pronouns
Currently lives and works in Minneapolis, MN.
Education:
Spring 2014-Spring 2017
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
BFA in Studio Fine Art with an emphasis in Drawing and Painting
Friends of MCAD Scholarship
2009-2011
Creighton University, Omaha, NE
Liberal Arts Studies
Ignatian Scholarship
Experience:
2019-Present
Director of Waiting Room + backroom, Minneapolis, MN
2018- 2019
Gallery Coordinator, Waiting Room x Gallery 71, Edina, MN
Studio Assistant for Jehra Patrick, Minneapolis, MN
2015-2018
Gallery Assistant, Waiting Room, Minneapolis, MN
Exhibitions:
2021
Solo Show, Normal Residential Purposes, Minneapolis, MN (July 2021)
MPLSart Sketchbook Project, Gamut Gallery, Minneapolis, MN (April 2021)
America, I Sing You Back, Concourse Gallery, MCAD, Minneapolis, MN
2020
Independent Showcase, Permanent installation at The Coven in St. Paul, MN
Sure Space Salon Benefit, Minneapolis, MN
2019
Daily Trumpet, Day 1054, Jonathan Horowitz Instagram project
2018
MCAD Curated Alumni Show, Saint Paul, MN
2017
Cliches with Craig, collaborative project led by W. J. Simmons featuring 20 artists, New York, NY
MCAD Curated Alumni Show, Barnes and Thornburg Law Firm, Minneapolis, MN
World Championship Cup Classic, Gallery 148, Minneapolis, MN
Democratic Production, Head to Toe Salon, Minneapolis, MN
Made At MCAD, Juried Exhibition, Minneapolis, MN
A Pressing Matter, Concourse Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2016
ArtMesh, Whittier Alliance, Minneapolis, MN
Body Eclectic, Kolman & Pryor, Minneapolis, MN
Propinquity, Library Gallery at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN
2015
Sculpture Garden at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN
2014
Siphonophorae, 519 Lowry, Minneapolis, MN
Curatorial:
2021
Virtual Sweetheart Market 02, Waiting Room x backroom virtual event
Hold You, Waiting Room, Northrup King Bldg, Minneapolis, MN
Questions from my body to yours, Waiting Room, St. Paul, MN
2020
Something that I’m supposed to be, Waiting Room, St. Paul, MN
Boredom Fantasy Mimesis: New Work by Sam Dirck, Waiting Room, St. Paul, MN
Sweetheart Market 01, Waiting Room, St. Paul, MN
Publications & Press:
2021
MPLSart Sketchbook Project, Sketchbook C, Contributing Artist, Minnesota
In the Field: Conversations with Creatives, Guest Panelist, Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN
2020
“Minneapolis t-shirt pop ups showcase student artwork on police brutality,” MNDaily, Minneapolis, MN
“How Minnesota artists are staying creative and beating the coronavirus blues,” Star Tribune, Twin Cities, Minnesota
Art Adventures with Drew Hance!, Final Episode produced by MPLSart, Minneapolis, MN
Artforum Critics Pick, Curator of Boredom Fantasy Mimesis, St. Paul, MN
2018
Invigilator, album artwork for Fauxny
2017
“Once Upon A Studio,” Minneapolis College of Art and Design Online, Student-Run Publication
“Emerging Talent Showcase,” Minneapolis College of Art and Design Online Publication
“MCAD’s Very Own Sculpture Garden,” Minneapolis College of Art and Design Online Publication