Colorado

Biography

Tsehai Johnson, born in 1966, Ethiopia, lives in Denver.  Johnson’s ceramic objects and installations act as cultural and social documents transmitting information about the most intimate details of human life. Driving this inquiry are several converging interests, from an exploration of ones desires vs. the realities of life, the close juxtaposition of labor and pleasure in domestic space, and finally the tension between beauty and use as expressed through the objects that populate and decorate the home.  Embracing the notion that all aspects of one’s existence, however quotidian and frequently overlooked, are significant Johnson’s work achieves a blend of familiarity and associative malleability inviting reflection upon the intertwined layers of our lives and the labors and pleasures of daily life.  Tsehai Johnson received her BA from Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1989, a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in 1993 and her MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1999.  Her recent solo exhibitions include Sampling at Plus Gallery in 2006 and Fields at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in 2005.  Notable group exhibits include Anomaly at the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art in 2004, the Exhibition of the Sixth Taiwan Golden Ceramics Award at the Taipei Ceramics Museum in 2000 and Regarding Gloria at White Columns in New York in 2002.  She was a recipient of the Colorado Council for the Arts Artist Fellowship in 2003. 

EDUCATION
1999 M.F.A. in Ceramics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
1993 B.F.A. in Ceramics, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA Graduated with Departmental Honors
1989 B.A. in Art History, Reed College, Portland, OR Thesis: The Kariye Camii of Istanbul; Its Architecture and Decoration
EXHIBITIONS
2006 Distill Group, Icelandic Art Museum, Reyzjanesbaer, Iceland (scheduled)
2006 Distill Group, Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Quito, Ecuador (scheduled)
2006 Solo Exhibit, + gallery, Denver, CO (scheduled)
2005 Solo Exhibit, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO (scheduled)
2005 The Slipcast Object, Denver Airport, Denver, CO (juror: Richard Notkin-prize recipient) *NCECA 2005
2005 Clay National, Center for Art and Visual Culture, UMBC, Baltimore, MD (at NCECA 2005)
2005 Terra Sutra II, Montage Gallery, Baltimore, MD (at NCECA 2005)
2005 American Clay Sculpture, Gallery 405, Baltimore, MD (at NCECA 2005)
2005 Evocative Implements, Baltimore Clayworks Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2004 The Slipcast Object, Eleanor Bliss Ctr. for the Arts, Steamboat Spgs., CO (juror: Richard Notkin, received merit award)
2004 Anomaly, Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, CO
2004 Group Show 2, Studio Aiello, Denver, CO (awarded 3D Prize)
2004 Steamin’, Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ
2004 Re:Invented Contemporary American Ceramics, Sangre de Christo Arts Center, Pueblo, CO
2004 15th San Angelo Nat. Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo TX
2004 Edify, Emmanuel Gallery, Denver, CO (Metro State Faculty Exhibit)
2004 Clay Mechanics, Midland Art Market, Indianapolis, IN (at NCECA 2004)
2004 All Fired Up: A Contemporary Ceramics Experience, Reed Whipple Cult. Center Gallery, Las Vegas NV
2003 ANTHOLOGY, Metro Center for the Visual Arts, Denver, CO
2003 *World Ceramic Biennale 2003 Korea, Icheon, Korea
2003 Models, Carson-Masuoka Gallery, Denver, CO
2002 Metro State Faculty Exhibit, Emmanuel Gallery, Denver, CO
2002 Restroom: Privacy and Consciousness, Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA
2002 Regarding Gloria, White Columns, New York City, NY
2002 ANA 31, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT
2002 Counting, Distill Group, Hafnarborg Cultural Center, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland
2002 Rocky Mountain Biennial, Fort Collins Museum of Cont. Art, Fort Collins, CO 2002 Colorado Clay 2002, Foothills Art Center, Golden CO (Received Award)
2002 Colorado 2002, Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Colorado Springs, CO (Received Merit Award)
2002 Terra Sutra, 21st Century Erotic Ceramics, Incubator Gallery, Kansas City, MO, (in conjunction with NCECA 2002)
2001 Eros: The Art of Love, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO (curator: Robin Rule) 2001 Porcelain Revisited, Vermont Clay Center, Waterbury Center, VT (curator: Julia Galloway)
2001 Colorado Clay 2001, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO (juror: Wayne Higby)
2001 Distill, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
2000 Y2Klay, Buddy Holly Center, Lubbock, Texas, (juror: Jaime Walker) (Awarded Juror's Prize)
2000 *Focus on Function, Katherine Nash Gallery, Univ. of Minn., Minneapolis, MN (jurors: Linda Sikora and Sandy Simon)