Page 57 - Studio International - July 1966

New York commentary

He also makes pictures. Or rather, he makes missives
that are construed on a surface and exhibited on walls,
communicating with anybody, not anybody special.
And he does it with great charm, and considerable skill.
Many of his collages are composed of tiny plaques, put
together to form shapes whose meaning escapes me. But
the intimate little messages—the painted or scratched or
even nearly blank tesserae—are intriguing in themselves.
One or two of Johnson's collages are even composed with
an eye to formal expression, and very well done. The
intimacy of his approach is important to the kind of
responses he wishes to elicit. It would be only too easy to
pass by. Only those who care will take the trouble to
examine the tiny details and thereby enter Johnson's
mood. q

Left
Ernest Dieringer Good and plenty 1966
Acrylic on canvas 5 ft square Poindexter Gallery
Below left
Joseph Cornell L'Abeille-Enseigne I
Schoelkopf Gallery
Below right
Ray Johnson Pink above 1965
Collage 23 3/4 x 17 3/4 in. Willard Gallery