Excellent Perceptions #1, 2007 by Chris Johanson

Chris Johanson creates vibrant, highly expressive works that reflect on contemporary existence—exploring themes from consumerism and self-help culture to spiritual seekers and modern anxieties. Emerging from Northern California’s punk scene through handmade zines, posters, and ephemera, Johanson expanded his practice to encompass paintings, drawings, sculptures, and immersive installations. His signature aesthetic combines raw humor, cartoon-like imagery, and reclaimed materials gathered from urban spaces, evolving over time toward simplified abstract forms. Today, his work is held in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

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SOBU is proud to feature fine art prints created by our friends at Paulson Fontaine Press, a woman- and minority-owned publisher based in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1996, the press collaborates with visionary artists—including Kerry James Marshall, Martin Puryear, Tauba Auerbach, and the Quilters of Gee’s Bend—to produce exceptional limited-edition intaglio etchings. Grounded in a commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices, particularly Black artists, Paulson Fontaine Press creates works that are held in major institution collections nationwide, including MoMA, the Whitney, the National Gallery of Art, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.