Cultural Commons Area, Lenexa City Center Library, Lenexa, Kansas, 2019

Glass mosaics, 5 x 23 feet (each)

Fabrication: Franz Mayer of Munich

Concept Summery: Interconnections is a triptych of mosaics that celebrates the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet through a profusion of typographic fonts, both uppercase and lowercase, intermixed with images from my books — Alphabet City, Alphabet School, and A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet.

Final collage designs for mosaic Interpretation by Mayer of Munich.

Beginning phase at Mayer of Munich, of interpreting into glass mosaics, the collage designs and artwork from my alphabet books A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet, Alphabet City, and Alphabet School, October 2018.

The fascinating process of the use of glass smalties and glass cakes that originate from Italy and Mexico at Mayer of Munich, October 2018.

Detail of completed mosaics for review, March 2019

Standing among the wonderful mosaicists who with extraordinary skill and attention to detail, interpreted my designs into stunning glass mosaics at Franz Mayer of Munich, Germany. Mayer of Munich, March 2019.

Elevations.

Walls ready and prepared for the mosaics.

Shipping crates with numbered boxes housing the mosaic panels on site at the library. April, 2019.

Numbered map showing each mosaic section that will come together like a giant puzzle.

My delighted Father and the wonderful installers from Mayer of Munich.

Grouting phase.

Completion of the installation, April 2019.

South Mezzanine, DeKalb Avenue Subway Station, Brooklyn, New York, 2001-2004
Glass mosaics, 7 feet 5 inches x 66 feet 9 ½ inches
Fabrication:  Franz Mayer of Munich

Concept Summary: A celebration of the historical and energetic spirit of Downtown Brooklyn through a vibrant collage of colors, shapes and familiar local iconography which include the stations subway lines (D, M, N, R and Q), the local zip code (718) and the local area code (11217).  The King and Queen motifs symbolize the final destinations of the subway – Kings County and Queens County.

Design collage for the translation into glass mosaics.

"DeKalb Improvisation" (left)

"DeKalb Improvisation" (right)

North Mezzanine, DeKalb Avenue Subway Station, Brooklyn, New York.
5 feet 10 inches x 18 feet 7 inches, 2001-2004
Fabrication:  Franz Mayer of Munich, Inc

Concept Summary: The “Mighty Wurlitzer Organ,” now housed above ground in the basketball court of Long Island University, formerly the world renowned Paramount Theatre which opened in 1928, is the central motif of this collage which celebrates this vibrant Downtown neighborhoods musical heritage.

North Mezzanine, DeKalb Avenue Subway Station, Brooklyn, NY.
Glass mosaics, 30.5 x 30.5 inches
Fabrication: Franz Mayer of Munich, Inc

Concept Summary: The King and Queen motifs symbolize the final destinations of the subway lines — Kings County and Queens County.

North Mezzanine, DeKalb Avenue Subway Station, Brooklyn, NY.
Glass mosaics, 30.5 x 30.5 inches
Fabrication: Franz Mayer of Munich, Inc

Concept Summary: The King and Queen motifs symbolize the final destinations of the subway lines — Kings County and Queens County.

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Mezzanine level, Universal City/Studio City Metro Station, Los Angeles, California, 2007-2009
Glass mosaics, 8 feet 4 inches x 58 feet
Fabrication: Franz Mayer of Munich

Concept Summary: Celebration of the film and television industry and their universal repercussions through an exuberant juxtaposition of colors, shapes, and familiar imagery.

"Universal Delights" (detail)

The extraordinarily talented Mosaicists at Franz Mayer of Munich, Germany working on "Universal Delights."

Final Design for mosaic interpretation.

Franz Mayer of Munich Studios.

Installation of "Universal Delights," April, 2009

Installation of "Universal Delights," April, 2009

Interchange celebrates the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet through a profusion of typographic forms, both uppercase and lowercase. Inspired by the interchange of spoken and written communication within universities and communities, the work invites students, local residents and visitors to make their own connections among letters, words and ideas while awaiting the streetcar.

A corresponding A–Z vocabulary, inspired by the UMKC mission statement and reflections on the surrounding Kansas City community, extends the concept through twenty-six words:

Going With the Flow was one of two distinct approaches developed for the Country Club Plaza Station. These two large-scale sculptures were conceived as lodestar works framing the station. Their forms draw upon the structural fluidity of Roy Lichtenstein’s Modern Head series, examples of which are in the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Abstracted elements of the human countenance suggest the diverse community of people who use the streetcar, while circular and flowing forms evoke the Fountain in Mill Creek Park, tennis balls at the Plaza Tennis Center, and the wheels and forward momentum of the streetcars themselves.

The sculptures also bring a note of Pop Art into the Plaza landscape, creating a playful visual dialogue with Claes Oldenburg’s iconic Shuttlecocks on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins.

Flow explored an alternative approach to the same station site, integrating the artwork directly into the shelter and platform. Conceived as an abstract curtain of water, it was inspired by Kansas City’s identity as the City of Fountains and by the fountains and waterways surrounding the Country Club Plaza, including the nearby Mill Creek Park fountain and Brush Creek. Layered, flowing lines of blues, greens and mauves are interspersed with circular forms, drawing additional connections to the Plaza Tennis Center and the wheels of the streetcars, while their random placement echoes the standing and sitting riders awaiting the streetcar.

The color, movement and interplay of lines and circles were also informed by two works at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Claude Monet’s Water Lilies and Walter De Maria’s One Sun/34 Moons.

Contextual Rendering –  KCI Airport Concourse A

Contextual Rendering –  KCI Airport Concourse B

Circle round in front of the entrance to The Marshalltown Performing Arts Center, Marshalltown, Iowa, 2022

Concept Summary: Colorful abstract forms based on musical notations such as the bass clef, the forte f, and musical notes, plus three kinetic mouth-shaped forms at the top, celebrate the rhythms, sounds, and ideas generated within this outstanding performing arts venue.

The title “Scherzo” refers to a short orchestral piece of music, especially in the second or third movement of a symphony or sonata. Scherzos are vigorously composed and are typically light and playful in character with intensely interesting, fresh and familiar themes.

Powder coated steel and cement base: 17 x 14 x 9 feet

Steel fabrication: Riggs Fabrication LLC

Powder coating: HMC Performance Coatings

Working maquettes

Final colors.

Metal forms in progress

Fabrication in progress and final placement

Main Corridor, Heartland Community Health Center, Lawrence, Kansas, 2021

Vinyl - 9.5 x 38 feet

Photography Direction and Art Production by Christy Schneider of Yellow Pencil Studio. Fabrication and Installation by Matt Herynk at Fastsigns. Hand Photography by Jason Dailey at DaileyImages.

Concept Summary: Through the use of sign language, the expressive hands of healthcare workers, staff and community members spell the nine letters that form the word HEARTLAND, which honors the Center’s mission to provide quality, compassionate, integrated, and patient-centered care for all.

Pod A Mural (Summer) - vinyl, 9.5 x 11.5 feet. Pod C Mural (Spring) -vinyl, 9.5 x 21.75 feet.

Pod D Mural (Fall) - vinyl, 9.5 x 21.75 feet. Pod B Mural (Winter) - vinyl, 9.5 x 11.5 feet.

Wayfinding signage for the main corridor leading to Pods A, B, C, D. The colors of each letter corresponds to the wall colors of the specific Pod locations which feature imagery relating to the four seasons – A (Summer), B (Winter), C (Spring), D (Fall).

Vinyl - 24 inches in diameter each

Poetry in Motion Digital Displays

MTA Arts & Design “Poetry in Motion” (2023) series can be found throughout the five boroughs of New York City transit system presented in either digital screen or print formats. The image of the King is from STJ’s mosaic mural at the DeKalb Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, NY (2005).

North End Gym Wall, Dustin R. Womble Basketball Center, Lubbock, Texas, 2022

Glass Mosaics, 12 x 14.4 feet

Concept Summary: Countless multicolored glass tesserae form dynamic representations of the iconic Double T symbols and celebrate the diversity and unity of the Texas Tech Athletic and Basketball Programs and the University at large

Fabrication: Franz Mayer of Munich

Fabrication in progress at Mayer of Munich

Acrylic urethane paint on aluminum, 18 x 13 feet, 2003
Steel fabrication: Cotter Mitchell of Vinland, Kansas

Main lobby, the Lied Center of Kansas , the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Concept Summary: Colorful abstract forms based on musical notations such as the treble clef, bass clef, and the forte f, celebrate the rhythms, movements, and energy of live performances. This is a commemorative work in honor of the 10th Anniversary Season of the Lied Center and 100th Anniversary of the University’s Concert Series.

Welcome to Lawrence Plaza, Historic Downtown and Business District, Lawrence, KS

Painted steel: 12 feet x 5 feet, Native Limestone base: 3 feet x 5.5 feet, 2004

Steel fabrication: Cotter Mitchell of Vinland, Kansas

Concept Summary: A celebration of the city’s Sesquicentennial through the abstraction of the word “free” which becomes a dancing flame of resolve that honors the city’s history as a “Free State” and recalls a quote by a former Lawrencian - poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967): “We have tomorrow bright before us like a flame.”

Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum, Bloomington Park, Clinton, Kansas, a National Park Underground Railroad Facility, 2009

Painted steel hoops, historic windmill tower, steel sphere, cement basesLarge hoop: 16 feet in diameter x 5 inchesSmall hoops: 6 feet in diameter x 5 inchesWindmill tower: 35 x 8 feetSteel Fabrication: Cotter Mitchell of Vinland, Kansas

Concept Summary: Highly reflective circular hoops establish physically and conceptually the relationship of the Underground Railroad to the areas’ ten extinct and extant communities and revolve around a historical windmill tower, positioned in relation to the North Star, which functions as the focal point of the site.

"Freedom Rings" in winter

"Freedom Rings" in Summer

Dedication: June 20, 2009 by the Clinton Lake Historical Society Inc., Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum.

The dancers are from the Department of Dance at the University of Kansas and from the Lawrence Arts Center accompanied by live music from members of the Alferd Packer Memorial String Band, May, 2016.

Conceptual sketch relative to the North Star.

Entrance to the Business School at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

Resin, monofilament, mirror, lights, powder-coated steel, painted wooden base, and electrical components, 64 x 12 ½ x 21 inches. This is a unique work created specifically for this space in 2015, inspired by the complete set of ten “Ice Cream Floats” (2007).

Concept Summary: “Indoors, in an institutional interior, is an installation of an illuminated, isolated, immobilized, immersed, inverted insoluble imitation ice cream cone.” — Caption from An Abstract Alphabet Series and A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet, published by Simon & Schuster, NYC and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year.

Installation view of “Ice Cream Floats” from "An Abstract Alphabet: New Works by Stephen Johnson," the Spencer Museum of Art, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2007.

Location: West Tunnel Baggage Claim exit to Parking Garage Love Field Airport, Dallas, Texas, 2014

33 digital prints on glass with ceramic glass colors, 18 x 18 x 1 inches each,

Fabrication: Franz Mayer of Munich, Inc.

Concept summary: Love Field, symbolized as a heart from which Pegasus, the symbol of Dallas emerges and subsequently ascends to flight above the lone star of Texas.

Commissioned by: Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, Southwest Airlines, the Department of Aviation and the Love Field Modernization Program.

Proposal

Sample Panel, Franz Mayer of Munich, July 2014

Final panel production at Franz Mayer of Munich Studios, Munich, Germay, July 2014

Overseeing the installation, October 2014.

Exhibition of 81 framed monoprints exhibited at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas from October 25th through December 21st, 2019. 100% percent of the sales of these works went to a special fund for East Lawrence children of color and children in need so that they could take courses at the center for free.

LMH Health West Campus Main Entrance, Lawrence, 2020

Framed archival prints, 2020

Archival print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 33 x 24 inches, 2020

Archival print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 33 x 24 inches, 2020

Archival print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 33 x 24 inches, 2020

Common area, The Poultry Building, Warehouse Arts District, Lawrence, KS, 2018

“Zippy” is an original work from the New York Times Best Illustrated book of the year: A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet. oil, key, kapok, knitted cloth, wooden knobs, and twine on canvas mounted on board, 76 x 80 inches (king size).

Caption: “Knitted kitchen loth, key, keyholes, kapok, knots, and knobs keep company near a king’s blue stripe on a king-size, Kelly green canvas.”

Entrepreneur of the Year Gala, Kansas City, Missouri, 2012

Original collage on paper, 13.5 x 54 inches
Limited edition, signed 12 x 49“ archival prints are available. For further information, please contact stephen@stephentjohnson.com

Concept Summary: The composition Rhythmic Transformations represents the life-cycle of entrepreneurship and innovation and was commissioned by Pipeline — the nation’s premier technology entrepreneur fellowship program based in Kansas City, MO.

1: Spark of an idea (lights)
2: Struggle and finding the right direction (highways, questions, etc.)
3: Scale, motion, forward momentum (gears, conduits, waves, growth curve)
4: Success (spotlights, stars)
5: Experience and wisdom (cross section of wood)
6: Start again (light, seed)

Live Auction of the original collage "Rhythmic Transformations" to help fund Pipeline during the Entrepreneur of the Year Gala, January 27, 2012. Kyle Johnson (left holding collage) won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and is now the CEO and founder of BIXY.

President and CEO Joni Cobb officiating.

Additional “Rhythmic Transformations” print awarded and judges Lars Perkins, and Thomas B. Pickens III, son of T. Boone Pickens relaxing during the judging.

Pediatric Wing, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Lawrence, Kansas, 2002

Enamel paint and clear coat on shaped wood with mechanical parts various sizes.
Wood Fabrication: Cotter Mitchell of Vinland, KS

Concept Summary: Inspired by my book My Little Blue Robot, 7 hanging sculptures with movable parts were created in addition the acquisition of 12 original pastel and watercolor illustrations from various children's books of mine. Each of these children’s books and subsequent original illustrations reflect diverse cultures and themes. With the accompanying books in the pediatric library, the intent is to ease the patients minds while fostering a safe and warm environment.

(P.S. this is my daughter spinning the heart shape.)

Blue Robot face and sides with 4 orange rotating circles which include the eyes and circles for the sides of the head.

View of one of the pediatric floors.

Pink Robot face and sides with 4 orange rotating circles which include the eyes and circles for the sides of the head.

Chest area with heart and movable opening and robot back with movable purple diamonds on gold ovals.

Robot Legs with rotating red circles and rotating black hexagons.

Robot Movable arms.

Top, Neck and Back of Robot head with 5 gray rotating squares.

Top, Neck and Back of Robot head with 5 gray rotating squares next to a Robot maquette in Plexiglas case that can be turned 360 degrees.

Hand-painted with decals robot maquette in case with 360 degree revolving base. 

Contextual Sketch Proposal as seen on a billboard, 2004 (Finalist)

Concept Summary: Celebration of the various tokens and subway lines (BRT, IRT, and IND) used throughout the 100 years of the New York City transit system.

Commissioning Agency: Metropolitan Transportation Authority
347 Madison Ave # B, New York, NY 10017.

Penn Lofts North and South Walls located at 801 Pennsylvania Street, Lawrence, Kansas, 2022

Concept Summary: A sunflower representing the state of Kansas and roses representing the floral plantings around the Warehouse Arts District function as design motifs and intuitive wayfinding, celebrating this burgeoning and blossoming East Lawrence neighborhood. Stylistically, the work reflects the historic nature of the area with simplicity and elegance, and in keeping with the painted typography on the adjacent 1904 Poehler Building.

Installation by Strong Hand Steady Signs

Final Designs

Projection and tracing of the sunflower.

Projection and tracing of the rose.

Contextual Rendering: Ground Level, North Corridor, Health Education Building, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas

Proposed mural for the Health Education Building — KU Medical Center, Kansas City, MO, 2016 (Finalist)

Concept Summary: Juxtapositions of diverse visual elements from the Clendening History of Medicine Library at KUMed, and in particular the exquisite Asian prints and watercolors, remind students and faculty of our shared connection with our medical forefathers, journeymen and women of diverse cultures who have paved the path and sparked our passion and mission to investigate and explore our human condition - Past, Present and Future.

Designated area for artwork in yellow: Ground Level, North Corridor, University of Kansas Medical Center, Health Education Building.

Contextual Rendering: Ground Level, North Corridor, University of Kansas Medical Center, Health Education Building

Collage Sketch Proposal

Location: Lobby escalator and upper level area, 1001 17th Street, Denver, CO, 2008

Proposed materials: Glass mosaics, fiberglass, and steel construction: Mosaic: 13.75 x 40 feet; Various fiberglass pieces: 2.5 x 3.5 feet to 3 x 5 feet.

Concept Summary: Proposed sketch for a mixed-use building and food court that celebrates Denver’s vibrant downtown business district through juxtapositions of two culturally divergent foods – Red Caviar and French fries.

Poster Statement: Artist Stephen Johnson's striking light and shadow study of an industrial fire escape evokes both Soho's manufacturing heritage and the urban beauty of this famous artistic community.

Poster: 45 x 29.5 inches, 1997
Original Artwork: Pastel and watercolor on paper, 17 x 25 inches (Collection of the MTA, New York, NY)

MTA Poster Series: The popular graphic poster program was established in 1991 to celebrate the diverse communities that make up the New York region. The commissioned work by painters, printmakers, and illustrators touches upon transit-related subjects and the places that can be discovered using the mass transit system. Posters are randomly displayed in unused advertising space on subway platforms throughout the 468 subway stations and on subway cars and buses. Printed posters are available for sale to the public through the New York Transit Museum Stores. Revenue from sales from the posters help to support the educational and exhibition programs at the non-profit museum. The Program offers illustrators and other artists the opportunity to reach a broader public, and provides the public exposure to incredible artists and visionaries who create a respite of engaging visual art.

Amtrak Station, Lawrence, Kansas, 2022

This is a proposed work, digitally rendered, to entice various city members to create a memorable artwork for arriving and departing passengers on an inoperative and defunct circular fountain bed. The work revolves around the concept of spoons as souvenirs: "A shiny, solid, slanting, spoon-shaped, semiabstract sculpture, sits on a sunken, sleek-surfaced sphere and casts soft, shifting shadows."

A selection of my literal abstractions from the ongoing series “An Abstract Alphabet.” This work was published by Simon & Schuster, NY in my book A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year.

Here the caption for these works reads: “Several sizes of shiny, solid, spoon-shaped, semiabstract sanguine, silver, and slate black sculptural statuettes standing on similar sleek-surfaced spheres, sunken in simple square stands with slits, cast soft, svelte, sinuous shadows.”

Entrance to the Law Library, School of Law, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 2003. Oil on canvas, 60 x 80 inches

Concept Summary: Commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Law School in 1878. Among the concepts and ideas depicted are the scales of justice and related imagery pertaining to the history of the school, such as the iconic sculpture by Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) of a law professor and student.

Installers with painting outside Green Hall at the University of Kansas prior to its installation. 

Commissioned by Richard Solomon Inc. as a proposal for a Santa Fe Pacific Corporation Mural. 2003-2004

Collage on paper mounted on canvas, 14 3/4 x 47 1/2 inches, 2003-2004 – This original work was subsequently destroyed due to the tragic crane collapse on March 15, 2008 at 303 East 51st Street in New York City.

Concept Summary: This original image was created for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Sister Cities of Lawrence, Kansas and Eutin, Germany (1989 - 2014). Collection City Hall, Lawrence, Kansas and City Hall, Eutin, Germany, 2014
Archival prints: 16.75 x 24 inches
Archival prints: 10.75 x 16 inches
Limited, signed and numbered prints are available for purchase. For more information please email stephen@stephentjohnson.com
10% of each sale will support scholarships for Lawrence students to travel to Eutin, Germany.

Lobby, TWO LIGHT Luxury Apartments, 1444 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri, 2017

Enlarged Archival print with paint on canvas, 4 x 9 feet

Acrylic and collage on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
This painting used brochures, posters, and various source material from the archives of Waddell & Reed for their 80th Anniversary Gala to be auctioned for charity.

Acrylic and collage on canvas, 36 x 48 inches This painting used brochures, posters, and various source material from the archives of Waddell & Reed for their 80th Anniversary Gala to be auctioned for charity.

Acrylic and collage on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

This painting used brochures, posters, and various source material from the archives of Waddell & Reed for their 80th Anniversary Gala to be auctioned for charity.

On stage are three paintings created live during a prior evening event using brochures, posters, and various source material from the archives of Waddell & Reed , Kansas City Convention Center, Kansas City on May 10th, 2017.

Photo documentation of STJ creating 3 paintings using brochures, posters, and various source material from the archives of Waddell & Reed to be auctioned at their 80th Anniversary Gala to support a charity for Kansas City Youth in crisis.  

Foyer, Adams Alumni Center at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 2015.

Acrylic on fiberglass

Commissioned by the KU Endowment for the Sesquicentennial of the University of Kansas (1865-2015)

Concept: An exuberantly painted Jayhawk in vibrant primary and secondary colors, symbolize the passion and vitality of its 150 years under which the dates 1865 and 2015 are rendered in their historic typographic fonts. The left side of the Jayhawk sculpture denotes the University’s founding in 1865 with the Berthold Baskerville Book font and period color palette. The right side of the Jayhawk sculpture uses Helvetica Bold, a contemporary font overlaying more blues, red and yellow gold’s, to highlight the year 2015.

Studio view of finished Jayhawk sculpture post photographs and about to fly the coop. 

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Signature work for the main lobby of the Wonder Shops + Flats, Kansas City, MO.

This work was created on top of a discarded, hand-painted sign promoting Wonder Bread from @1960’s combined with oil paint and collage to evoke the spirit and history of this landmark building and its former commercial goods. 4 x 12 feet.

The following images are concept proposals that incorporate the iconic Wonder Bread primary colored circles and function in part as wayfinding.

Wayfinding proposal No.1

Wayfinding proposal No.2

Light Switch Proposal

Twinkie metal mold wall - proposal No.1

Twinkie metal mold wall - proposal No.2

Zippy

Foyer and elevator area, ONE LIGHT Luxury Apartments, 50 East 13th St., Kansas City, Missouri , 2017

Framed original of Zippy from A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet book and series. oil, enamel, ink, pastel, crayons, charcoal, Zipatone, and collage on canvas, 63 ½ x 49 inches.

“Zigging and zagging through a zodiac, zinnia, and zebra zips a zigzag.” - Caption from A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet