about

Mariah Anne Johnson explores the physical realities of bodily experience and art making in the landscape through drawing, movement, and installation. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, she focused on art and literature at Rice University while performing with Rice Dance Theater and earned her MFA from the University of Illinois in 2006. Mariah’s work has been exhibited around the US and abroad, particularly in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where she lived and worked from 2009 until 2018.

From 2011-2018 Mariah taught painting and drawing at The George Washington University. She has undertaken international artist residencies, including the Riddergade AIR Fellowship at Viborg Kunsthal in Denmark, and performed with Hayley Cutler’s darlingdance company. She currently lives with her family in Los Angeles, where she continues to find the adventure in art making.

Education

  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Master of Fine Arts in Painting; 2006
  • Rice University; Houston, Texas; Bachelor of Arts in English and Art; 2001

Solo Exhibitions

  • Talk to the Room/Talk to the Sea; Zaratan Arte Contemporânea; Lisbon, Portugal (2022)
  • Keep Everything; BlackRock Center for the Arts; Germantown, MD (2016)
  • In the Pines; Flashpoint Gallery; Washington, DC (2012)
  • Studio; Harmon Art Lab Project Room; Washington, DC (2011)
  • Forest of Distraction; Spring Solos 2011; Arlington Arts Center; Arlington, VA (2011)
  • Fort Distraction; Washington Project for the Arts; Washington, DC (2011)
  • The Fruited Plain; Phantom Galleries LA; Long Beach, CA (2009)
  • We Are All Well and Fine; LittleBird Gallery; Los Angeles, CA (2008)
  • How Lovely on the Mountain; The LAB; San Francisco, CA (2008)
  • How to Fold a Fitted Sheet; Lawndale Art Center; Houston, TX (2006)
  • Memory Quilts; Arts Center of the Ozarks; Springdale, AR (2002)

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024
  • Chai’n Brai Laika Daimon; Canopy Projects; Austin, TX; curators: Los Outsiders Collective
  • Intimacism; Red 225, Nashville, Tennessee; curator: Kathleen C. Boyle
  • Nature/Nurture; Wistariahurst Museum & Gardens; Holyoke, MA
  • Every Fiber; Bells Gallery, Dothan, Alabama; curator: Holly Meyers
2023
  • Los Outsiders 15th Anniversary Exhibition; Laredo Center for the Arts, Laredo, TX; curators: Los Outsiders Collective
  • Liquid Matter; The Residency Project; Pasadena, CA; curators: Sarah Umles & David Badesch
  • soundpedro2023; Angels Gate Cultural Center; Los Angeles, CA; curator: FLOOD
2022
  • VBODOBV (sounding videos); Sound Pedro Festival Online Showcase; Los Angeles, CA
  • Infrastructure Lovers; Monte Vista Projects; Los Angeles, CA; curator: Megan Mueller
2021
  • Y el Cuerpo se Convirtió en Control Remoto; Plataforma Minima; Concepción, Chile
  • Interstice; MOTOR LA & The Residency Project; Los Angeles, CA; curator: Sarah Umles
  • Mystery Quilt; Art Enables; Washington, DC; curator: Marissa Long
  • Uncompressed; Bryan Art Gallery, Coastal Carolina University; Conway, SC; curator: Jim Arendt
2020
  • By Proxy; Arlington Arts Center; Arlington, VA; online exhibition; curator: Blair Murphy
  • Painting at Night; Fort Houston Gallery; Nashville, TN; curator: Allison Reimus
  • Stationary Front; Eastside International; Los Angeles, CA; curator: Megan Mueller
2019
  • June Open Studio Exhibition; Centro Negra, AADK; Blanca, Spain; curator: Giulliana Grippo
  • Parlor; Los Angeles, CA; organized by Sophia Allison
2018
  • Making Lightly Closing Exhibition; Atche Art Space; Los Angeles, CA
  • It Won’t Always Be This Way; Artist Mother Studio Residency Exhibition & Performance; Rhizome DC
  • Tiny Dancers: Cohabitation Edition; performance with darlingdance; private apartment; Washington, DC
2015-2017
  • Dance/Band (performance with darlingdance company and Lotion Princess); The Shed; Washington, DC
  • Homeward(BOUND), part of Instigate. Activate.; Arlington Arts Center; Arlington, VA; curator: Megan Rook-Koepsel
2014
  • Mariah Anne Johnson & Mei Mei Chang; King Street Gallery, Montgomery College; Silver Spring, MD
  • Uncensored DC; Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library; Washington, DC; curator: Matthew Mann
  • Sculpted: Histories Revealed; 2014 Foggy Bottom Outdoor Sculpture Biennial Exhibition; Washington, DC; curator: Deirdre Ehlen McWilliams
  • The Last Brucennial; Vito Schnabel and the Bruce High Quality Foundation; New York, NY
2013
  • Wet Dreams; Catalyst Projects; Washington, DC
  • 2013 Trawick Prize Finalist Exhibition; Gallery B; Bethesda, MD; jurors: Cynthia Connolly, Alexander Heilner, Vesela Sretenovic
  • Sublime/Subliminal; Alley Cat Studio; Washington, DC; curator: Kathryn McDonnell
  • Unfettered; Delicious Spectacle; Washington, DC; curator: Samuel Scharf
2012
  • Low Moments; Pleasant Plains Workshop; Washington, DC
  • Transformer Gallery; (e)merge Art Fair; Washington, DC
  • Arranging Lines, Placing Shapes; Jane Haslem Gallery; organized by Amanda Lineweber; DC
  • Space is the Place; Carroll Square Gallery; organized by Shira Kraft & Hemphill Fine Art; DC
2011
  • Site Aperture; Flashpoint Gallery; Washington, DC; curator: Danielle O’Steen
  • Hope Chest; Greenhouse 11; Washington, DC; curator: Becca Kallem
  • DC Emerging; VisArts; Rockville, MD; curator: Brett Johnson
  • Contain, Maintain, Sustain; Artisphere; Arlington, VA; curators: Welmoed Laanstra, Sara Reisman, & Ernesto Santalla
  • DC Women Artists Now; Gallaudet University; Washington, DC; curator: Michelle McAuliffe
2009-2010
  • Place & Sensibility; VisArts; Rockville, MD; curator: Brett Johnson
  • This…is Your…This…is My…; Satellite Space Gallery; Univ. of Texas at San Antonio; curator: Jaime Salvador Castillo
  • Kimono My House; Artist Curated Projects; Los Angeles, CA; curator: Anna Sew Hoy
2007-2008
  • Here & Now; Transformer Gallery; Washington, DC
  • Stratification; Brand Library Art Galleries; Glendale, CA
  • Migration Study; Phantom Galleries LA; Los Angeles, CA; curators: Gita Meh, Shadi Harouni
2006
  • Monster; iSpace Gallery; Chicago, IL; curator: Luke Batten
  • Closeknit: History, Textile, and Place; Coral Street Arts House; Philadelphia, PA; curators: J. Meredith Warner, Carrie Cook
  • MFA Exhibition; Krannert Art Museum; Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Good Housekeeping; Ruby Green Contemporary Art Center; Nashville, TN
2005
  • Imaginary Friends; Link Gallery; Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • 48th Annual Delta Exhibition; Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock; Juror: Roger Shimomura
  • Softer Side; Downtown Urbana, IL; curator: Daniel Ma
2004
  • 47th Annual Delta Exhibition; Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock; juror: Katherine Degn
  • Mariah Johnson and Terry Bean; Historic Arkansas Museum; Little Rock, AR
2001-2003
  • Small Works on Paper; sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council; juror: Ralph Slatton
  • Small Works on Paper; sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council; juror: Tony Hepburn
  • On the Verge; senior exhibition; Rice University Art Gallery; Houston, TX
  • Angles and Attitudes: An Exploration of Women in Art; Rice Memorial Center; Houston, TX                      

Residencies

  • Zaratan Arte Contemporânea; Lisbon, Portugal; 2022
  • Aktuelle Architektur der Kultur; Blanca, Murcia, Spain; 2019
  • Making Lightly; Durational/Communal Residency; Atche Art Space; Los Angeles, CA; 2018
  • Artist-Mother Studio; organized by Amy Hughes Braden, funded by DCCAH; Rhizome DC; Washington, DC; 2018
  • Hafnarborg Center of Culture and Fine Art; Hafnarfjörđur, Iceland; 2017
  • Institute für Alles Mögliche; Berlin, Germany; 2016
  • Riddergade Fellowship; Viborg Kunsthal; Viborg, Denmark; 2016
  • Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, Montgomery College; Silver Spring, Maryland; 2012
  • CentralTrak: The University of Texas at Dallas Artists Residency; 2009

Experience

  • The George Washington University; Washington, DC; Professorial Lecturer in Painting and Drawing; August 2011-June 2018. Taught undergraduate-level painting and drawing classes in the Department of Fine Arts & Art History. Developed course syllabi, classroom and homework exercises, and out-of-classroom experiences. Conducted all class meetings and critiques of student work. Evaluated and assign grades to student work.
  • Porch Projects; Washington, DC; Founder and Director; November 2010-December 2012. Created an artist-run, domestic exhibition space in enclosed former sleeping porch attached to row house. Curated exhibitions, organized, and executed schedule of programming, artist talks, open hours, and public relations functions.
  • Museum of Contemporary Art; Los Angeles; Educator; September 2007-May 2009. Conducted gallery tours of exhibitions for school field trip groups, ranging from 3rd grade to high school, using open-ended-inquiry discussion strategies. Worked with teachers to integrate contemporary art topics into classroom curricula. Conducted off-site outreach workshops based on gallery exhibitions for diverse groups around the city.
  • J. Paul Getty Museum; Los Angeles; Family Art Lab Facilitator; Summer 2007. Assisted museum patrons of all ages with completing the Family Art Lab workshop based on the Oudry’s Painted Menagerie exhibition. Prepared materials, gave short gallery talks, and demonstrated craft project techniques.

Selected Honors

2022
  • Included Artist, Video Sound Archive S5; videosoundarchive.com (2022)
2017-2018
  • Panelist, Artist Mother Studio Conference; Washington Project for the Arts and Howard University; Washington, DC
  • Company Member, darlingdance; Washington, DC
2013
  • 3rd Place, Trawick Prize; Bethesda, MD
  • Draw & Discover Guest Artist; Luce Foundation Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum; DC
2012
  • Artists Council Member, Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC
  • Artist Talk; Luce Foundation Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Washington, DC
  • Panelist; DC Faces; Emerging Arts Leaders of DC & Corcoran Gallery of Art; Washington, DC
2008-2009
  • Artists’ Resource for Completion Grant; Durfee Foundation; Santa Monica, CA (2009)
  • Artists’ Resource for Completion Grant; Durfee Foundation; Santa Monica, CA (2008)
  • Featured Artist, For Families Program; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
2004-2006
  • Teaching Assistantship; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Brodie Materials Grant, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2001-2003
  • Brodie Fellowship; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • 13th Annual Arkansas College Art History Symposium; paper given: “The Virtuous Woman as Depicted in The Hours of Catherine of Cleves”; Hendrix College, Conway
  • Christine Croneis Sayres Memorial Award for Studio Art; Rice University; Houston, TX

Selected Bibliography

  • Baker, Kenneth. “Galleries: Heeks changes technique to keep work alive.” San Francisco Chronicle. 2 August, 2008.
  • Garcia, Seyde. “Chai’n Brai Laika Daimon del Colectivo Los Outsiders.” Femina. 7 January, 2024.
  • Garcia, Seyde. “Chai’n Brai Laika Daimon at the Laredo Center for the Arts.” Glasstire. 29 January, 2024.
  • Gopnik, Blake. “Color and Meaning Knit Together in an Abstract Yarn.” Washington Post. 7 June, 2008.
  • Hamilton, Jeanne. “Good Housekeeping.” Number: An Independent Arts Journal. Spring/summer 2006.
  • Klaasmeyer, Kelley. “Capsule Reviews: Mariah Anne Johnson, How to Fold a Fitted Sheet.” Houston Press. 13 April, 2006.
  • Maddox, David. “Comforts of Home.” Nashville Scene. 23 February, 2006.
  • Marech, Rona. “Empty medicine chest? Start your own art gallery.” Washington Post. 17 September, 2011.
  • Michael, Holly. “Family Collage.” Northwest Arkansas Times. 25 October, 2002.
  • O’Sullivan, Michael. “On Exhibit: Artists want you to look up, or down.” Washington Post. 14 October, 2011
  • O’Sullivan, Michael. “Mariah Anne Johnson: In the Pines.” Washington Post. 19 October, 2012.
  • Peacock, Leslie Newell. “The Delta Reconsidered.” Arkansas Times. 10 June, 2004.

Collections

  • Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock
  • Clinton Foundation, Little Rock