Every Trip an Art Trip

Over fifty years ago, Roger Hayden Johnson and his wife Mary Johnson lived for one year in Paris, where Roger painted and studied art history (specifically Gothic stained glass windows) and Mary taught English in a French lycée on a Fullbright grant. Ever since that early experience, they have returned regularly to that beautiful city and to their old haunts, and in February, they again enjoyed a 10-day trip with their adult "children" to Paris and Aix-en-Provence.

As always, they spent a portion of their time seeing art. They also had many conversations about the excellent work their son, Allen Hayden Johnson, is doing to promote Roger's paintings through various social media platforms, Roger's website, and even this blog. Their daughter, Anna Elise Johnson, a professional artist in her own right, held in-depth art conversations with her father, too. Anna's wife, Rosita Lama Muvdi, brought her own creative insights as a Los Angeles based film director to numerous art-related chats. So even though the family saw a lot of art, they also talked art pretty much non-stop!

Gerhard Richter Show at La Fondation Louis Vuitton

One rainy day, the family took the metro to the Frank Gehry designed building of the Louis Vuitton museum in the Bois de Boulogne to see a huge retrospective of works by the 95-year-old German artist, Gerhard Richter. As described on the foundation's website, "Gerhard Richter is honored with an exceptional retrospective unmatched in scope. Bringing together 275 works spanning over six decades, the exhibition reveals the full breadth of his practice — oil paintings, glass and steel sculptures, drawings, watercolors, and overpainted photographs."

The family agreed that it was all a bit much - in size, scope, repetition, over-the-top written descriptions, and crowd size.

Zeus, the Olympic Horse, at the Musée des Arts et Métiers

More enjoyable was the family's next day visit to Zeus, the kinetic horse that had glided across the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This mostly aluminum sculpture galloped in place every ten minutes in front of the Musée des Arts et Métiers. A variety of trades contributed to its creation by the Atelier blam, including boilermakers, mechanics, engineers, designers, and even naval architects who gave Zeus the illusion of racing on water.

The family also took its traditional walk through the Cour d'Honneur at Le Palais Royal and hopped onto its vertically striped columns by public conceptual artist Daniel Buren.

Galleries

Paris art galleries are always a draw for this artistic family, and this year was no exception. Galerie Flak on the Left Bank, with its superb collection of Native American art, has shifted its business model to "by appointment only," so Roger did not have a chance to study and admire the gallery's Hopi kachinas. The neighborhood of Le Marais on the Right Bank has some of the most important galleries, including the Galerie Perrotin, which featured works by Haitian artist Kathia St. Hilaire and an upstairs display of chess-related art. The family also viewed the collection at Le Petit Palais, but sold-out exhibitions at Le Grand Palais meant they could only view parts of the building's gorgeous Beaux-Arts architecture.

On to Aix-en-Provence

The TGV bullet train sped the Johnson family south to sunny Aix-en-Provence. This favorite city in the South of France is a visual feast of golden buildings, colorful flower and produce markets, fountains, and sun-dappled squares. The city is known for its connections to artist Paul Cezanne, but the Cezanne sites were temporarily closed for renovations. A drive to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and its sprawling antiques markets gave Roger the chance to add to his confit pot collection. These historic gold and green glazed pots were traditionally used to store cooked duck meat preserved in duck fat. They were partially buried in earth to cool their contents throughout winter months.

Nice and the Musée Matisse

Another day trip took the Johnsons to Nice for lunch in the Old Town, followed by a visit to the Musée Matisse on a hill above the city. Here the descriptions were more accessible and interesting than those of the Gerhard Richter show, but there were no major Matisse works on display.

Home and Back to Work

Back in the U.S., Roger has already begun work on several commissions and is preparing paintings for upcoming shows in Santa Fe and Vail. To see Roger's complete collection of available paintings, visit the Paintings page. Check back soon for announcements about the Santa Fe and Vail exhibitions.