Manic characters grin wildly in Aaron Johnson’s over-the-top, explosive paintings. The Brooklyn-based artist’s work overflows with gross-out humor and in-your-face sexuality, which he renders in a color palette of hyperactive, neon acrylics. While paintings on fabric comprise the majority of his work, Johnson has an ongoing series of sculptural sock paintings (made from used, donated socks from his social media followers, mind you) that evoke both assemblages and D.I.Y. puppetry. Darkly funny, Johnson’s gag-filled work nods to the over-saturation of violent and sexual imagery in our media culture with its blatant absurdity.
