Through painting and creating situations of engagement, my work is invested in material provisionality and relationships with our more-than-human companions.
My practice uses fantasy, practicality, and speculation to work towards imagining possibilities of life interconnected. Participants are often invited to interact with plants, mushrooms, and found objects inside and outside of the gallery space. Forming relationships with animals and plants has always grounded me. By interrupting constructs based in speciesism and separation, my practice works to visualize alternative futures in and against ecological destruction.
Whitney Johnson-Lessard (Peoria, IL) is a multidisciplinary artist who creates paintings and situations of engagement. Her practice is invested in materiality and relationships with the more-than-human world. She received a BFA in Painting from Illinois State University, and an MFA in Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University. Johnson-Lessard has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally. She has been awarded a number of grants, including support from the Arts Partners of Central Illinois, and the Illinois Arts Council. Recently, Johnson-Lessard was a resident at Alderworks Artists and Writers Retreat in Dyea, AK, and exhibited with the artist-run curatorial project Lease Agreement. Whitney is a professor and teaches at Bradley University and Illinois Central College.