Barry Johnson - Creating a Legacy of Art

Seattle-based. Multidisciplinary. Self-taught. Award-winning.

 Artist Barry Johnson is making his impact through a variety of projects and opportunities. He has many permanent public arts around the country. He was responsible for the Black Lives Matter mural in Seattle. Johnson has held residencies with Amazon and Facebook, and has installed one of his portraits in the Four Seasons residence hall in Tribeca. Additionally, he has received the smART Ventures award, Edwin T. Pratt Award, and GAP award. He has been featured in TEDxSeattle, South Seattle Emerald, and Crosscut, among others.

 One of his recent works was with the Midtown Building, which is on 23rd and Union in Midtown Square in Seattle. Johnson was part of a group of eight artists who brought art and life into the newly erected apartment building. Johnson’s work is seen inside the building as well as on the paneling outside the building. After two years of work on the project, it is finally able to bring joy to the community. 

With another two-year project, resting right outside the Midtown Building, Johnson left an additional mark in the area. This one was in the form of a statue. This statue, designed by Johnson, is of Dr. James Washington Jr. Dr. Washington, along with being an author and artist, was an activist who sought to get redlining abolished. The Midtown Building is a new building in an area that was previously redlined. This statue’s location brings about a full-circle moment, putting Dr. Washington forever at the center of what he dreamed to accomplish in the area. About the experience, Johnson said, “It’s been an honor to work on this and celebrate Mr. Washington. He paved the road for me and other Black artists to do what we love. This sculpture reminds us of how far we’ve come, and where we come from.”

 Johnson has had his own solo exhibition at A-Gallery with Integrus Architecture titled Pretty Boy Barry. This exhibition was a culmination of his past and present work as well as tools and books that have directed him through his life and career. Further, Johnson’s journey of finding his identity was shown in the installation.

 Another one of Johnson’s projects was titled Between the Sheets. Starting in December 2020, it started with a simple goal: to paint a different portrait of a Black man every day. What Johnson ended up with was hundreds of portraits across twelve sketchbooks, and an opportunity to learn more about drawing and painting as he challenged himself.

 In addition, Johnson worked with Moses Sun and recently unveiled a new art piece honoring Quincy Jones at the Museum of Pop Culture, where Jones was the winner of the museum’s 2022 Founders Award. Johnson and Sun were hand-picked by the museum to design this piece, one that will become part of the museum’s permanent collection. Jones’ legacy is captured in the various elements of the piece: from the bright colors and tv screens to the images of Jones himself, both as a young trumpet player and a colorfully cut-out painting of him later in life. Johnson said of the piece that “The way we created this was really to give an ode to Seattle, Jazz, and all of the things that made Quincy the enigma that he is. From the colors to the ribbons, everything was fabricated and designed to evolve with time.”

 This is only the beginning for Johnson, who will continue to create powerful pieces and craft his legacy.

The headshot of Barry was taken by Alex Bergstrom. All the other photos were taken by Barry Johnson.