Kirk Hopper Fine Art in Dallas Presents a Folklore-Fueled Playground of Detailed Works

There is a lot to unpack as one enters Kirk Hopper Fine Art’s current exhibition, “Jeremiah Johnson, Job Johnson and Duyen Nguyen,” a three-person show of no fewer than 54 works. The presentation is curated by Houston-based Susie Kalil, one of the foremost scholars of Texas art working today. The exhibition offers prints, paintings, sketches, digital and hand embroidered fabric, fashion, and even a sculpture. Inside these works there are found objects, plastic beads, laser engraved woodcut, pill bottles, glow-in-the-dark paint, and a horseshoe. To call them mixed media is a disservice. The visual cues abound.

The exhibition features husband and wife artists, Pennsylvania-born Jeremiah Johnson and Duyen Nguyen, who was born in the Vung Tau province of Vietnam. They now live and work in Thibodaux, Louisiana, just over an hour from New Orleans. A fictitious guest star named Job Johnson (an alter ego of Johnson) joins the gallery as a Pennsylvania folk artist. An artist of the Industrial Era, Job fittingly produced the graphite drawings on display.

The sheer volume of works, created from 2008 to 2024, could understandably be misinterpreted as a mini retrospective of the artists’ careers.

The themes of the show touch on everything from Nguyen’s Vietnamese ancestry to Johnson’s struggle with ulcerative colitis. The latter is depicted in House of Worship (2014), a church-like sculpture cleverly constructed of prescription pill bottles. Another work features a literal painting of a colon (Skid Row, 2023). Johnson names Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring as his inspiration, provocative artists who were masters of symbolism.

Nguyen and Johnson also crafted several large paintings placed in the rear of the gallery together through their “Nguyen Johnson Collaborative” partnership.

One cohesive theme that translates throughout the show is the handmade nature of the works. It is refreshing to see artists be hands-on in the process of creating everything, including the piece itself, the materials, and the frame.

Nguyen’s thoughtful embroidery based on Asian folklore is a medium the artist should continue to develop. The basis of her practice traces back to her father, a tailor, who taught her traditional family methods of sewing. Dragon Turtle (2022) stood out as what could be a well-researched solo exhibition, using textile as a versatile artform.

Two small mannequins modeling Nguyen’s dresses, placed in a corner of the gallery, missed their mark as the gallery’s showstopper because of the obstructed view.

Another appreciated nod to familial roots was Johnson’s construction of wooden frames made of fallen branches found in the forests of Pennsylvania.

Every idea an artist has needs its own breathing room to be fully appreciated and explored by the viewer. After seeing the personal touches woven into each work, it is clear Nguyen and Johnson had a point of view for the exhibition.

Jeremiah Johnson, Job Johnson, and Duyen Nguyen’s works are on view at Kirk Hopper Fine Art through June 15, 2024. More exhibition details here.

Peter Augustus Owen is a Dallas native and former gallerist who now runs the Augustus Owen Foundation, focusing on bringing international artists to Dallas for a residency program.