Ashley Johnson (b 1958) lives and works just outside Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a co-founder of Dasart.

His work is concerned with generating poetic meaning through 'narrative' moments between life and death, violence and sexuality. At present, his pieces make use of organic materials like grass and bark to communicate ideas about the nature of man.

Training : 
BAFA University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg
HDE University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg

Go to a list of works on this site

Exhibitions :

1978 - 82 Various student exhibitions, Pietermaritzburg/Durban
1986 - FUBA Gallery, Johannesburg. Group exhibition
1990 - Karen Mckerron Art Gallery, Johannesburg. Joint exhibition with Michael Matthews
1991 - Galerie Binnenland, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Joint exhibition with Michael Matthews
1992 - South Africa Embassy, Bonn, Germany. Joint exhibition with Michael Matthews
1992 - Jack Heath Gallery, Pietermaritzburg. DASART exhibition.
1993 - Carlton Hotel, Johannesburg, Group Exhibition
1993 - Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria. Momentum Life Awards Exhibition
1993 - Natal Technikon Gallery, Durban. DASART exhibition.
1993 - ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) Gallery, Johannesburg. DASART exhibition.
1994 - UNISA (University of South Africa) Gallery, Pretoria. DASART exhibition.
1995 - 1st Johannesburg Biennale, Fringe, Dasart at Megamusic, Johannesburg, South Africa.
1995 - Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg. DASART exhibition - Dasart & Victorian Art.
1995 - Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg. DASART exhibition - Dasart Hugging Itself Twice.
1996 - Durban Art Gallery, Durban. DASART exhibition - Dasart Colonial Mutations.
1996 - Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein. DASART exhibition - Dasart Colonial Mutations.
1996 - Little Show of Drawers, Pretoria University
1996 - Invitation Show, Keith Alexander Gallery, Johannesburg
1997 - Kempton Park Art Competition, Kempton Park
1997 - Eurovirus II - V, Carfax, Johannesburg
1997 - A Little Big Thing, Erotic Miniatures, Thompson Gallery, Johannesburg
1997 - Carfax, Johannesburg,  2nd biennale.  DASART exhibition
1998 - Art Objects & Meditations, Gallery 111, Johannesburg
1998 - Kempton Park Fine Art Competition, Coen Stoltz Recreation Centre, Kempton Park
1998 - Art Auction, Carfax, Johannesburg 
1998 - Nudes and Nakeds, Carfax, Johannesburg
1998 - DASART DRAWS THE LINE, Gallery 111, Johannesburg
1998 - Sacred Spaces, Carfax, Johannesburg
1999 “Transmigrations : Rituals and Items” Civic Theatre Gallery, Johannesburg
1999 “Transmigrations : Rituals and Items” ArtShare Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
1999 “Transmigrations : Rituals and Items” University of Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico
2000 “Transmigrations : Rituals and Items” Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, California, USA
2002 “Transmigrations : Rituals and Items” Pretoria Art Museum, South Africa
2002 “Transmigrations : Rituals and Items” Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, SA
2002 “Transmigrations : Rituals and Items” Ann Bryant Art Gallery, East London, SA

Artist's Statement

Throughout my work there is a concern with the human presence or absence in space and time. This includes the psychological level as well as actual experience. Thus I make a range of forms that combine 2 dimensional strategies with 3 dimensions and also incorporate other aspects such as sound and movement. I find the human psyche very interesting and this is the subject matter of much of the work. Themes are generally to do with Life, Death, Sexuality, Growth, Violence and Decay. Recent work has shifted focus slightly to move away from Existential ideas of alienation as my perceptions have broadened to position humanity within the flux of experience. I see reality as a set of assumptions which have to be addressed so that new perceptions may be engendered. Art is one means of altering perception. Further ideas on this aspect can be gleaned from my essay, DEAD END : DOG ART which is in the DASART COLONIAL MUTATIONS book.

Chronological Development

EARLY WORK 1982

The use of shaped canvas and multiple format was caused by the desire to manipulate space and time. This allowed the expression of an idea to grow but within the confines of a unitary aesthetic experience. I characterise this as time and timelessness. Thus, in the "BIRTH OF NARCISSUS" triptych, the three aspects mirror each other but there is a narrative build up of emotional meaning, like an orgasm, which runs through the series.

Another work, "MANN IST MANN", includes sculptural elements within its spatial illusion. The human fragments mimic the movement of tools of labour with the idea that we take on the persona of the tool as we use it. Systems we design tend to enslave us.

WORK FROM 1988 - 1992

My work from this period registers aspects of the growing political upheaval in South Africa. These are mainly 2 dimensional paintings but there is also a free standing dodecahedron ("BURDEN : ATLAS INVERTED"). Other works explore corner space ("CHRIST : ASCENT/DESCENT") and textural variety ("ON MORTALITY : AN ANORTHOSCOPIC PERCEPTION").

DASART 1992 - 1998

In 1992 I formed the artists' co-operative called DASART together with Michael Matthews. We believe in the potency of perception and want to make art that can activate a new sense of reality. We see reality as a set of cultural assumptions that inhibit human potential. The viewer has to be challenged by the object. Vision is manufactured. This meant that new materials, some stemming from an industrial environment, were needed to aid the transformation. Initially my works from this period were still 2-D shaped canvases but increasingly began to occupy the viewer's space. Thematically the works dealt with the extreme violence in the society. Several works derive from personal experience such as "FLEXION : MY BROTHER GETS STABBED BUT ...", "RESURRECTION I" and "THE DEATH OF LUCAS". I started using fibreglass to construct these works and this led to free-standing painted structures through which the viewer walked. Also at this point I began using sound so that the viewer activated recordings i.e. "RED ROCK SUICIDE". These were poems I had written and recorded.

From 1994 I have been moving away from forming things in fibreglass to natural fibre laminates like grass. I still use fibreglass but in a much rawer, more elemental way. The work is sculptural but also painted e.g. "MUNTU". A piece like "REMNANT" is a fibreglass torso combined with cow dung, old maize stalks and a tree stump. Another piece, "DIALOGUE", combines painted grass with fibreglass in a suspended arrangement.

In 1995-1996, DASART launched its most ambitious project to date with the DASART COLONIAL MUTATIONS installation. This concept required works created by DASARTISTS either individually or in collaboration, to be exhibited alongside works created by late 19th century Victorian artists. The point was the comparison between the differing mindsets. Written material was also prepared for a book entitled DASART COLONIAL MUTATIONS. This installation travelled to a number of museums in South Africa. Pieces were created out of the debris of the 20th century and represented a post-industrial vision that contrasted with the bourgeois scenes and ideas of the colonial era.

From 1997, Dasart will be working on a new project, called TRANSMIGRATIONS: RITUALS AND ITEMS which will examine the biological roots and meaning of culture within the human psyche, and its broader use as a weapon against nature. We anticipate creating a travelling exhibition that will go to unusual Third World destinations. We will invite artists from these regions to address the theme and exhibit alongside us. The essence of the exhibition will be a cultural exchange. The project will be posted on our website and updated as we build it.

Works on this site:

Essays on this site :

Synopsis of Transmigrations : Rituals & Items

What Eurovirus means to me

Dasart and Victorian Art

Dead End - Dog Art   (100K)

On Coming Off The Wall

Top of page - CV & words