David Johns (born 1948) is a
Navajo painter from the Seba Dalkai,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
Background
He was born in
Winslow, Arizona
Winslow ( nv, ) is a city in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population of the city is 9,655. It is approximately southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, Flag ...
, United States. As a child, Johns spent many hours with his grandmother herding sheep through their land. During these years, she taught him how to respect and care for the land, plants and animals who enable the
Navajo to live, and told him many of the stories that explain how the Navajo came to be and where his parents clans originated. Johns received formal training in
fine arts from
Northern Arizona University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1982. In 1996, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters from
Northern Arizona University.
Artwork
Johns started selling portraits and landscapes while still in high school. His work combines his formal training with the traditional teachings he learned as a child and the Navajo philosophy of life by which he lives. The symmetry of his paintings reflect this harmony and balance; the colors and textures he creates reflect the beauty of the land from which he comes. His abstract paintings capture life's subtle phenomena such as the sunlight at different times of the day or the emotions brought by each of the four seasons.
In 1987, Johns was approached by long-time mentor Lovena Ohl and Albert Wareing to paint a mural on the dome of
Concord Place. The mural covered thirty-six feet in diameter and rose 50 feet in the air, and took 18 months to paint. The mural depicts native peoples in all four directions, presenting indigenous designs and symbols, and portraits of great leaders such as
Crazy Horse and
Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...
. Noted author
N. Scott Momaday wrote of his work at Concord Place, "David Johns is a seer, and he comes very honestly by that gift. In his remarkable artwork, he enables us to see as well. His gift becomes our gift. Here is the essential spirit of creation."
Beginning in 1976, David's work has been exhibited at gallery shows all over the world, with many solo exhibitions including Navajo Tribal Museum,
Window Rock, Arizona
Window Rock ( nv, , ) is a census-designated place that serves as the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest territory in North America of a sovereign Native American nation. The capital lies within the boundaries of the ...
(1977); C.G. Rein Galleries,
Santa Fe, New Mexico (1984); The Concord Place,
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
(1987); Millicent Rogers Museum,
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Ch ...
(1993); Palais de Nations,
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
,
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
(1999); and the Lanning Gallery,
Sedona, Arizona (2006).
David is the Vice President of the Diné Hataałii Association, an organization of Navajo Medicine Men and Women.
References
Bibliography
* Jacka, Lois Essary, Jerry Jacka, N. Scott Momaday. ''David Johns: On The Trail Of Beauty.'' Scottsdale, AZ: Snailspace Publishing Inc., 1991. Library of Congress 91-60780.
* Touchette, Charleen, Suzanne Deats, Nancy Stem. ''NDN Art: Contemporary Native American Art.'' Albuquerque, NM: Fresco Fine Art Publications Inc., 2003.
* Iverson, Peter,
Monty Roessel. ''Diné: A History Of The Navajos.'' Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2002. .
External links
David Johns AskArt
Lannin Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, David
1948 births
Navajo painters
Living people
Painters from Arizona
People from Navajo County, Arizona
20th-century Native Americans
21st-century Native Americans
Native American people from Arizona