Nevill Johnson: Paint the smell of grass - Eoin O'Brien

confusing, especially to those unfamiliar with the process within Johnson’s work or with his work
in general. Many people who come to these paintings with little previous knowledge of Nevill
Johnson find them baffling. The formal sophistication of these paintings often makes them very
satisfying aesthetic objects, although the viewer might often be distracted from this pure
enjoyment by the suggestion within the title of other meanings or references.
Titles were often reminiscent of other periods in Johnson’s work; Enigma and Assignation
make connections with much earlier work, while Baigneur, Gleaner or Saint Victoire refer to his
renewed interest in other painters. All provide tantalising and perhaps teasing clues for the viewer
as well as a sense of the genesis of each work.
He had also continued to work in collage. From the mid-1970s, Johnson’s process of
technical experimentation had resulted in collages which use their materials with great judgement
and refinement. While Picasso or Braque might originally have awakened Johnson’s interest in
this medium, he immediately found his own voice in works such as Ballywilliam, demonstrating
a sensitivity to the effects of materials without ever sacrificing the coherence of the whole picture.
102 Nevill Johnson l Paint the Smell of Grass
Las Meninas
Figures in the Park
Nevill Johnson l London 1978–1999 103