Life · Exhibitions
Exhibitions and Symposia
Ronald Edward Johnson, 1956 to 2024
All known exhibitions
Ronald Edward Johnson exhibited for almost six decades: in 1956 with a solo exhibition at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; in 1975 and 1977 at Weißenstein Palace in Pommersfelden; from 1998 mainly in Lower Franconia, and also in Fürth, Tauberbischofsheim and Munich. The last dated exhibition in his lifetime was in 2011 in Schweinfurt. Four years after his death, the Kunstverein Fulda showed his work in 2024.
The information comes from newspaper reports, exhibition texts and his own exhibition list. If you know of further exhibitions or have catalogues, invitations or photos, please write to the editor via the contact form.
- 1951 – 1956
- Exhibitions in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and New York (as stated in 1956)
- 1956
- Solo exhibition, Art Studio of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 22 to May 6: wood and wire sculpture, mobiles, oil painting, jewelry, pottery, weaving (Baltimore Afro-American and Baltimore Sun, April 28, 1956)
- 1968
- First known German newspaper report (August 20); according to it, his works had never been publicly exhibited in Germany until then
- 1975
- “Zeitgenössische Kunst in Franken” (Contemporary Art in Franconia), Weißenstein Palace, Pommersfelden, July 20 to August 17, then Bad Neustadt an der Saale: “Entschuldigen, so muß es sein” and “Akrobat,” both mixed media (catalogue published by the Kunstverein Erlangen)
- 1977
- “Zeitgenössische Kunst in Franken (Thema Musik)” (Contemporary Art in Franconia, theme: music), Weißenstein Palace, Pommersfelden, July 16 to August 14, then the Altes Ämterhaus in Bad Neustadt an der Saale: “Cosmic Echo I” (mixed media) and the pinewood sculpture “Shankti” (catalogue published by the Kunstverein Erlangen); according to a family note, all the works he once showed in Pommersfelden were sold
- between 1976 and 1985
- Exhibition at the “Haus des Gastes,” Hofheim: paintings, jewelry and wood sculpture on a single evening (newspaper report “Ronald E. Johnson ein vielfältiger Künstler”)
- 1998
- 11th Unterfränkische Kulturtage, Schüttbau Rügheim (Hofheim), July 18 to 26: six artists from the Haßberge district, among them herman de vries, Petro Schiller, Ludwig Heinrich, Gerhard Nerowski and Jannina Hector (Fränkischer Tag, July 15, 1998)
- 2000
- Annual exhibition of BBK Unterfranken, Otto-Richter-Kunsthalle, Würzburg, through December 23: a focus marking his 70th birthday, with wood sculptures in linden and mahogany, canvases and reverse glass paintings
- 2002
- Galerie Kirchner, Grünsfeld, April 12 to May 12: sculptures, paintings and prints
- 2003
- “Licht-Signale,” Glashalle Maininsel, Schweinfurt, from January 9
- 2003
- “Wald und Kunst,” Jägerhäuschen in the forest between Zeil and Bischofsheim, Forstdirektion Eltmann (July; Main-Post, July 4 and 11, 2003)
- 2003
- 12. Fürther Kunst-Begegnungen, Stadtmuseum Fürth, Schloss Burgfarrnbach, July 27 to September 14
- 2003
- “Bilder und Skulpturen,” Galerie Schulgasse 18, Eibelstadt, September 12 to October 3
- 2004
- Part of the photo project “Atelierspuren” by Marion Braun
- 2004
- “Zammete,” Markthalle Ostheim vor der Rhön, July 24 to August 8, opening of the 17th Unterfränkische Kulturtage
- 2005
- Sculpture symposium at the Froschgraben, Tauberbischofsheim, July: the jury chose his sandstone figure for purchase by the town; it stands in the Stadtgraben
- 2006
- BBK sculpture symposium “Zuruf,” forecourt of the Kulturspeicher Würzburg, July 13 to 22
- 2006
- art club Kunstverein Burgwedel/Isernhagen, Großburgwedel near Hanover: opening of the association’s new art space on November 5, together with the Würzburg painter Michael Kraus (Nordhannoversche Zeitung, November 2, 2006)
- 2007
- Joint exhibition with Carlo Catoni, Bad Kissingen
- 2007
- 1st Lichtenburg Symposium “Weite – Nähe,” Ostheim vor der Rhön, September 2 to 8, with Jan Polacek, Dierk Berthel, Ortrud Sturm, Steff Bauer and Sören Ernst; the sculptures were afterwards placed on the Tanzberg
- 2007 – 2008
- “Ronald E. Johnson – Bilder & Skulpturen,” Werkstatt Galerie Nordheim am Main, December 8, 2007, to the end of February 2008, introduced by Katharina Winterhalter
- 2008
- Kreisgalerie Mellrichstadt: the six poplar-wood sculptures from the Lichtenburg Symposium in the gallery garden (summer; Main-Post, May 16, 2008)
- 2008
- Catalogue “Ronald Johnson,” January 2008: text by Katharina Winterhalter, photographs by Dierk Berthel
- 2009
- “50 + XXL,” state exhibition of BBK Bayern, Balanstraße 73, Munich, March 8 to April 5
- 2010
- “Aus einer Hand” (From One Hand), retrospective for his 80th birthday, Kunstverein Tauberbischofsheim, Engel-Saal: paintings and small-format sculptures, September 25 to October 17, opening on September 24
- 2010
- Retrospective for his 80th birthday, BBK gallery in the Kulturspeicher Würzburg, October 29 to November 21
- 2011
- “Ronald Johnson – Malerei,” WeinGalerie, Neue Gasse, Schweinfurt, April to June 18
- 2024
- “Farbe trifft Holz,” Kunstverein Fulda, May 1 to June 16 (posthumous, with Ines Britz and Jan Döhrer)
- Year unknown
- Exhibition at ZF Sachs, Schweinfurt (before 2010)
- Year unknown
- Extensive solo show at the Künstlerhaus Würzburg, then at Turmgasse 9, through February 4 (two newspaper reports)
Voices on the Work
“The sculptor as painter and the painter as sculptor: a fascinating thing.”
“Human bone forms and the depth of the color black hold Ronald Johnson under their spell.”
“He makes stones float, sets pictures in motion, drives lines into relief.”
He “trowels, splatters, drips and dribbles”; the effect, she wrote, was “almost archaic.”
The Year of Exhibitions
In 2003 Johnson showed his work in three places: in the Glashalle on the Maininsel in Schweinfurt, at the Fürther Kunst-Begegnungen in Schloss Burgfarrnbach, and at the Galerie Schulgasse 18 in Eibelstadt. The Fürther Nachrichten described him as the senior figure and focal point of the Fürth exhibition.
“Ronald E. Johnson is a magician. He makes stones float, sets pictures in motion, drives lines into relief.”
Sculpture Symposia
Between 2005 and 2007 Johnson took part in three sculpture symposia: in July 2005 at the Froschgraben in Tauberbischofsheim, where the jury chose his sandstone figure for purchase by the town; in July 2006 in the BBK symposium “Zuruf” in front of the Kulturspeicher Würzburg; and in September 2007 in the 1st Lichtenburg Symposium in Ostheim vor der Rhön, whose poplar-wood sculptures were shown in the garden of the Kreisgalerie Mellrichstadt in 2008.
Retrospectives for His 80th Birthday
For his 80th birthday in 2010, two retrospectives showed his work: “Aus einer Hand” (From One Hand) in the Engel-Saal of the Kunstverein Tauberbischofsheim, with paintings and small-format sculptures (September 25 to October 17), and the exhibition of the BBK gallery in the Kulturspeicher Würzburg (October 29 to November 21).
“I let myself be guided entirely by my intuition.” (translated from German)
Posthumous: Kunstverein Fulda, 2024
Four years after his death, the Kunstverein Fulda devoted two rooms of the exhibition “Farbe trifft Holz” (May 1 to June 16, 2024) to him. Works on view included the large painting “Explosion” and the wood sculptures “Black Lady” and “Torso.” His widow, Elsbeth Michel‑Johnson, gave one of the laudatory addresses.