Robyn Johnsen studied art at The Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota where she received her BFA and M.ED. She moved to Hood River Oregon in 2002 with her family to escape the city traffic and to be surrounded by the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge. She has been showing her work at local venues and galleries for the past several years, and received first place in the Best of the Gorge art exhibit at the Columbia Center for the Arts in 2018 and second place in 2020. Robyn loves sharing her passion for the creative process with young people as a high school art teacher, and finds that pieces of this experience trickle into her work from time to time.
She primarily works in acrylic paint, because who has time to wait for paint to dry. You can find her on instagram @rmjohnsen
Artist Statement
My recent works are in a sense, painted collages. Old photos are a source of inspiration,with other elements such as patterns and animals collaged in to bring new meaning to the image. Often, the figures are cloaked in patterns that compete with the background,with an exploration, and usually a twist of the relationship of human/animal. Of course this all holds meaning to me, and relates to my experiences and observations as a human in this place and time.
