Discard new work by Dane Johnson

Opening reception Friday August 13th 7p-11p

XYandZ is pleased to present Discard, an exhibition of paintings by Los Angeles based Artist Dane Johnson. Johnson's paintings of discarded scratch-off lottery tickets celebrate the inherent hope of potential riches found in the ubiquitous discarded scraps that litter the streets of the Artist's Hollywood neighborhood.

When these numbers don’t reveal a prize the ticket is thrown away. In gathering and presenting the losers, Johnson seizes the opportunity to highlight, in larger than life scale, the hyperactive graphic design and text that adorn these tickets. Johnson in turn reveals the construction behind this game of chance. He strips each ticket of its glossy disguise. The irrational allure of the language in its descriptive force, mirrors the bravado of the imagery. Stacks of cash, pots of gold and swinging monkeys strategically boast possibilities that lie under the scratch off ink.
The paintings’ expressive scratches disrupt the hard-edged graphic design. In this dissonance, Johnson creates a perspective that is both celebratory and aware. What becomes apparent in the discarded tickets are hopeful portraits of a human ritual performed countless times each day. The artist as collector has been let in on these solitary moments and, like a puzzle, pieces them together to accrue the ever-elusive “jackpot.”

Dane Johnson received his BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. He has shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions at galleries throughout the United States including The Luggage Store in San Francisco and Sabina Lee Gallery in Los Angeles.