Simen Johan, famous for his “psychologically charged depictions of the natural world,” has created even more intense pieces. His new artwork titled, _Conspiracy of Ravens_, portrays “animals in turbulent scenes of power play and theatrical poses.” He attributes this intensification in his latest work to the “current socio-political climate, as well as to his continued interest in life as a play of fictions, shaped by desires, fears and illusion.”
Finding inspiration everywhere he travels, Johan is able to seamlessly blend different pieces of his photographs to make an entirely new and unique yet cohesive piece. The photographs he creates tend to “lack a sense of place,” which can feel like home for Johan who was born in Norway, raised in Sweden, and then moved to New York at 19 years old, creating a continually changing idea of cultural belonging for him.
_Conspiracy of Ravens_ presents “expressively staged portraits and open-ended narratives.” Examples of his new art includes: two intertwined Barbary lions, extinct in the wild, that wrestle for domination against a painted set and a grizzly bear and her cubs that ransack a pelican nesting ground created from scrap tires. His portraits, landscapes, and narrative pieces work together to create a “metaphorically dense world” that is similar to humans in which “roles are adopted, dramas unfold, and the distinctions between reality and fantasy dissolve.”
His work will be on view at the Yossi Milo Gallery from October 24 to December 7 with an artist reception on October 24 from 6-8pm. At the same time, Johan will have a solo show at the Brad Cushman Gallery at the University of Arkansas from October 12 to December 2.
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