Exhibition: May 10- June 7

Reception: May 10, 5:30-7:30pm

Gallery Talk: May 31, 2:30pm

Working in two different mediums, painter Douglas Johnson and filmmaker Jeffrey L. Gangwisch both discover a sense of peace and place in their first collaboration, Organism. On view at the Creative Alliance at The Patterson from May 10 – June 7, Organism explores the bonds between human and animal, spirit and body, myth and reality. There will be an opening reception for the artists from 5:30 – 7:30pm on Saturday, May 10th, and the public is warmly invited to attend.

Faunic icons have inspired artists throughout the ages from cave paintings to our animal analogues in a thousand fairytales. At once our companion and predator, these images terrify and comfort in equal measure. Human-animal hybrids are part of the world’s mythology, taking the form of animal-headed gods, winged angels, mysterious sphinxes, and dancing satyrs; wherever we look, humankind is made one with the animal kingdom. Organism continues this tradition of coupling the beast and the human figure as an eternal theme of spiritual creation.

At first glance, Johnson’s paintings seem purely from the realm of allegory and ancient myth, but they might have been inspired by modern science. The painting “In Communion” depicts man, his mortal enemy the serpent, and his savior…the horse, from whose blood anti-venom is derived. Gangwisch’s stop motion animations transform human figures into wildlife entrapped, challenging the viewer to reflect on their own participation with the natural world. Their installation throughout the gallery offers perspective on the viewers’ own enclosures, both physical and psychological.

Jeffrey L. Gangwisch collaborates on diverse motion media projects with various cinema and performance groups for video installation, cinematic exhibition and new media distribution. Gangwisch earned his Bachelor of Arts in Film Production from the University of New Orleans and was a Fulbright Media Scholar when he received his Masters of Arts in Television Production from Falmouth University in Cornwall, UK. After working for several years on film and television productions across the U.S. and Europe, he continues his diverse static and time-based media work as a Resident Artist of the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, MD.

Douglas Johnson is a painter who has made Baltimore his home since 1987 when he attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, earning his BFA in General Fine Arts in 1991. His oil paintings and watercolors are concerned with the human form and are expressionist in nature. As he puts it, “with the psychology on the surface.” He makes his living as a self-employed artist painting portraits, murals, restoring antiques and creating sets for several local theatres. His work during the last few years as an actor, director, playwright, set-designer, mask-maker, and puppeteer with local DIY theatres (Yellow Sign Theatre, Annex Theater, and the Baltimore Rock Opera Society) has been a central inspiration for his recent paintings.