Leroy Johnson

Leroy Johnson

BornNationalityBased In
1937AmericanN/A
Biography

With a documentarian’s eye but a poet’s gaze, Leroy Johnson (1937-2022, Philadelphia, PA) surveyed the pleasures, hardships, and contradictions within the Philadelphia neighborhoods where he spent his life. Through his occupations as a social worker, rehab counselor, teacher of disabled youth, and school administrator, Johnson pierced the fabric of collective human experience more deeply than most. Constructed largely from materials found during his daily commutes, his house sculptures are replete with the textures of reality. Johnson represented the city as an accretion of marks. Intentional declarations graffitied on walls hold equal weight as the subtle beauty of the residue of life, of signage and surfaces worn and sunbleached past legibility—their degradation becomes, through Johnson’s attention, painterly abstraction authored not by a single artistic hand but by the vast social forces at play. These sculptures are labyrinths of referent and possibility. Leroy Johnson (1937-2022, Philadelphia, PA) received his master’s degree in Human Services from Lincoln University in 1988. Johnson has presented solo exhibitions at Margot Samel, New York, NY (2025); Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ (2023); The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA (2022), among others. His work has been included in group exhibitions at Villanova University Art Gallery (1983), the Camden County Historical Society (1990), Cheltenham Center for the Arts (1996), Gloucester County College (1998), The Clay Studio in Philadelphia (1997, 1999, and 2000), the Art Gallery at City Hall, Philadelphia (1998, 2015, 2017, and 2019), the African Jazz Museum, Kansas City (2002), List Gallery at Swarthmore College (2004), Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (2011), and Tiger Strikes Asteroid (2021). His work is in the collections of the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, California and the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

Selected Artworks
Untitled
Leroy JohnsonUntitled, 201027.3 x 36.8 x 15.2cm18000 USD
Who Is Eligible?
Leroy JohnsonWho Is Eligible?, 201025.4 x 61 x 38.1cmPrice on Request
4 Given
Leroy Johnson4 Given, 201024.1 x 20.3 x 20.3cmPrice on Request
Crosswalk
Leroy JohnsonCrosswalk, 200019.1 x 22.9 x 26.7cmPrice on Request
You Been Had
Leroy JohnsonYou Been Had, 200043.2 x 41.9 x 20.3cmPrice on Request
Doll House
Leroy JohnsonDoll House, 199536.2 x 34.3 x 30.5cmPrice on Request
West Philly
Leroy JohnsonWest Philly, 201635.6 x 45.7 x 40.6cm18000 USD
Untitled
Leroy JohnsonUntitled, 200519.1 x 22.9 x 26.7cm22000 USD
Temple
Leroy JohnsonTemple, 200035.6 x 30.5 x 40.6cm22000 USD
Red Truck
Leroy JohnsonRed Truck, 201527.9 x 35.6cm15000 USD
First Responder
Leroy JohnsonFirst Responder, 201845.7 x 61cm18000 USD
Delphos
Leroy JohnsonDelphos, 201920.3 x 25.4cm14000 USD
Untitled
Leroy JohnsonUntitled, 200930.5 x 40.6cm16000 USD
Heart of Darkness
Leroy JohnsonHeart of Darkness, 199533 x 27.9 x 15.2cm18000 USD
Stop!
Leroy JohnsonStop!, 201026 x 49.5 x 20.3cm18000 USD
Environmental Terrorist
Leroy JohnsonEnvironmental Terrorist, 200045.7 x 30.5 x 20.3cm18000 USD
EZ Park,c
Leroy JohnsonEZ Park,c, 200540.6 x 43.8 x 22.2cm18000 USD
Malcolm
Leroy JohnsonMalcolm, 200032.4 x 27.3 x 24.1cm16500 USD
Rev. 3:6
Leroy JohnsonRev. 3:6, 200538.1 x 42.5 x 21.6cm18000 USD
Spirit House
Leroy JohnsonSpirit House, 200548.9 x 50.8 x 34.3cm22000 USD
RIP
Leroy JohnsonRIP, 200033 x 48.3 x 21.6cm18000 USD
Bad
Leroy JohnsonBad, 200544.5 x 44.5 x 29.2cm18000 USD
Untitled
Leroy JohnsonUntitled, 199544.5 x 30.5 x 26cm18000 USD
Act Now
Leroy JohnsonAct Now, 200524.8 x 24.8 x 29.8cm16500 USD
Wallpaper
Leroy JohnsonWallpaper, 200830.5 x 30.5cm15000 USD
Juicy
Leroy JohnsonJuicy, 200030.5 x 39.4 x 11.4cm18000 USD
EZ Park
Leroy JohnsonEZ Park, 200540.6 x 43.8 x 22.2cm18000 USD
Nails
Leroy JohnsonNails, 200554.6 x 27.9 x 15.2cm18000 USD
Untitled
Leroy JohnsonUntitled, 200519.1 x 22.9 x 26.7cm22000 USD
Frankford & Girard
Leroy JohnsonFrankford & Girard, 201245.7 x 61cm19500 USD
Untitled
Leroy JohnsonUntitled, 201027.3 x 36.8 x 15.2cm18000 USD
Gallery Representation