Book
Johnsson, Liselott. Painting Beyond Painting: From Pensiero Debole to an Expanded Practice. Saarbrucken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. 2014. Print. (Link to Amazon)
Abstract:
From my studies of Baudrillard, Gillick, Grosse, Halley, Judd, Palermo, Vattimo and others, as well as from visual studies of my surroundings and my work in the studio, I deduced that painting does not have any boundaries and that it could comprise two-dimensional surfaces, objects, and architecture, as well as a political message. By allowing the boundaries of my painting practice to open up, I obtained a new understanding of my art. As a result, my painting practice has become the generator for my work as an artist, designer, and architect. Pensiero debole and my MFA program have allowed my art to expand and transform, so that I now understand there are no set boundaries for what a painting practice can encompass or what it can allow an artist to create.Intrigued by the formal boundaries of painting as they relate to objects and architecture, I explored materials, space, color, and geometry to study the limits of their relationship. Throughout my master of visual arts program at the Art Institute of Boston, I was inspired by Gianni Vattimo’s theory of “weak thought”—pensiero debole—to allow myself to dismantle, shift, transgress, and corrupt boundaries adopted in my practice as painter, designer, and architect. For every new painting project, I would start with a new premise. In a process characterized by a continuous destabilizing shift, I changed creative approaches, painting methods, materials, and compositions, resulting in a diverse body of work. In this thesis, I chose to focus on color, geometry, and the expanded field of painting.
Essays
Johnsson, Liselott. "Unfolded: A Comparison of Folded Paintings by Simon Hantaï and André-Pierre Arnal." (pdf)
Johnsson, Liselott. "Interview: Peter Halley"
Johnsson, Liselott. "Painting in Architectural Space: Mary Heilman and Katherina Grosse"
Johnsson, Liselott. "Introducing Chance in Painting"
Johnsson, Liselott. "A New Presence in Contemporary Art: Women Abstract Painters"