Howard Johnson’s solo exhibition, “Phantastrophies,” is on view now at the Fitchburg Art Museum (FAM) through September 30. Organized by FAM’s museum director, Nick Capasso, the exhibition continues FAM’s interest in providing solo exhibitions for New England artists who demonstrate exceptional skill and have an extensive oeuvre with a distinctive and focused singular style. For decades, Johnson’s art has been defined as being within the surreal and visionary mode. Taking a closer look, what becomes obvious, is that Johnson is an artist who works primarily with the figure and word-art pushing it into a brand of pop-mannerism with roots in European avant-garde, Cubism, collage format and American Modernism, particularly the esoteric experimentation and low art of the post-World War II counterculture, blended with an obsessive and organized elegance. The tone of Johnson’s work is that … [Read more...] about HOWARD JOHNSON: PHANTASTROPHIES AT THE FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM