New York City - Stephen Haller Gallery presents a one-person exhibition: Johnnie Winona Ross: San Solomon Seeps.

The primary structure of this new series of paintings is the equilibrium of horizontal bands, contrasting the seemingly unpredictable randomness of vertical rivulets drawn by gravity.  The title derives from his inspiration for this series – the subtle colorations of the San Solomon mineral springs seeping into the parched landscape of West Texas.  There is a subtle evolution in this new series – the colors are more vibrant, but still only glimpsed under an atmosphere.  The drips or seeps are more disciplined suggesting more of a real grid.

These paintings are a perfect example of a return to the pre-eminence of painting in the U.S, and these paintings are distinctly American.  Ross not only grounds his work in the inspiration of the American earth, but borrows techniques from ancient Native American sources, melding them with a distinctly sophisticated and utterly contemporary vision.

His use of the Native American technique of burnishing pigment and minerals with a potter’s stone to create a hard surface with a visually warm sheen creates an effect reminiscent of the softening of marble steps by decades of use.

In The Washington Post, art critic Stephen Parks characterized Ross’s work in this way: “From a distance his canvases appear to be simple, minimal constructions of horizontal stripes with hints of vertical color in the background.  Up close the paintings are seen to be extraordinarily beautiful and complex objects that induce a humming meditative state.”