Donald Kuspit’s 1985 Artforum Review of Martin Johnson
In this May 1985 Artforum review, art critic Donald Kuspit analyzes Martin Johnson’s vivid, fast-paced paintings — a fusion of high art and kitsch, abstract and representational elements, and fragments of language. Calling Johnson’s approach “visual jazz stretching and testing the limits of meaningfulness,” Kuspit explores the artist’s use of chance, cultural references, and Dadaist playfulness to challenge the boundaries of meaning. This essay offers an insightful look into Johnson’s early career and his unique position within the contemporary art world.
download pdf
Dry Criticism These Sober Hours
By Donald Kuspit, 1983
Published by City Gallery of Contemporary Art, Raleigh, North Carolina
Donald Kuspit’s 1983 essay on Martin Johnson situates the artist’s vast installations within the tradition of Dada and American pop culture. Kuspit describes Johnson’s compulsive accumulation of images and fragments as both playful and menacing, a vision that reflects the absurdity and contradictions of the American dream. With references to the Joker, Duchamp, and funhouse mirrors, Kuspit argues that Johnson’s work exposes the carnival-like madness behind America’s façade of abundance and order.
Download pdf