August 18 - December 1, 2000

An exhibition of the ceramic work of internationally known artist Leroy Johnson opens at the Society for Contemporary Craft's One Mellon Bank Center Gallery August 18 and continues through December 1, 2000.

Reflecting on Johnson's concern with the figure in relation to the urban landscape and how hats, eyeglasses and ornament function as signifiers of status and place in the urban environment, the exhibition includes ten sculptures depicting men with hats. Through this work, hand-built from clay, mixed media and found objects, the artist attempts to express not only his aesthetic values but social, moral and spiritual values as well.

A resident of Philadelphia, Johnson has been an artist-in-residence at Philadelphia's Clay Studio for five years and works in printmaking, painting, and book arts as well as ceramics. Influenced by folk and outsider art, cubism, collage and improvisational jazz, the work reflects Johnson's fascination with the amount, variety and ubiquity of urban debris and decay. Johnson says, "All my work is about enjoyment, but I believe art should have a cultural edge." A resident of Philadelphia, his work mirrors the urban environment around him while critiquing a society built on materialism. Johnson has a master's degree in Human Services from Lincoln University and has taught art in private schools and community centers. In 1999 he was awarded a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship.

This year's artist-in-residence for SCC's Artists and Kids project, an ongoing project that fosters access to the arts on Pittsburgh's North Side by placing a professional artist in a three-week residency, Johnson worked with 11 at-risk students ages 12-16 to produce a series of tile murals to be installed in the North Side community. A strong proponent of art in the community, he works regularly with at-risk youth. As an educator, Johnson's philosophy is that "Risk-takers improve the race." He explains, "You should be as adventurous and courageous as possible. I work everyday. I draw everyday. You only have talent and potential when you're a kid. When you're an adult you've got to realize it."