Ann Johnson

Ann Johnson Born in London, England and raised in Cheyenne, WY, Ann Johnson is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, (where she now teaches) and received a BS in Home Economics. She has received an MA in Humanities from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and an MFA from The Academy of Art University, in San Francisco with a concentration in printmaking. At Prairie View she received the distinguished Presidents Faculty of the Year award, and Art Teacher of the year. Primarily an interdisciplinary artist, Johnson’s passion for exploring issues particularly in the Black community has led her to create engaging works such as: The Hoop Dreamin Collection. A series of decorative basketball goals that explore the social issue of a Hoop Dream. It Is the Not Knowing That Burns My Soul, an investigation of exploratory mixed media works that examine the “Black Indian”. Her series Converse: Real Talk has been exhibited at Women and Their Work in Austin, TX, The Kansas City Art Institute, and The Community Folk Art Center in Syracuse, NY. Johnson has been an invited resident at: Tougaloo Art Colony in Jackson, MS, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston CAMLAB, Project Row Houses in Houston, TX, The Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA, The Plains Fine Art Museum in Fargo, ND, and the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. She was resident guest artist at Kansas City Art Institute in 2023. In 2024 she was an Artadia Finalist. Johnson was included in the Texas Biennial in 2013, and 2021. She was acknowledged as an “Artist to Watch” in the International Review of African American Art and is a member of the Bearden 100 (honoring artist Romare Bearden). She is a member of the ROUX Collective and is co-founder of the organization PrintMatters and PrintHouston. In 2023 Johnson was listed as one of the most transformative artists of the year by Black Art In America. Johnson earned the name Sole Sister because she paints portraits with her feet. Johnson aspires to leave a legacy of challenging and thought-provoking work that will entice the viewer and inspire younger artists. Johnson is represented by Hooks Epstein Gallery Houston,  TX, and Spillman Blackwell Fine Art in New Orleans, LA.