“Visual Music from My Soundless Mind”
A final art retrospective from retiring Gallaudet art professor, Dr. Paul Johnston

Who:
Dr. Paul Johnston, art professor
Gallaudet University students, faculty, and staff

What:
On the eve of his spring retirement, Dr. Paul Johnston will debut 52 new pieces of art in a show, “Visual Music from My Soundless Mind.”

The abstract paintings in this exhibition symbolize Dr. Johnston’s visual interpretation of the power of music. And much as a composer weaves together melodies, rhythms and harmonies, these works come together in an orchestral performance that resonates with emotional intensity.

Where:
Linda K. Jordan Gallery
Washburn Arts Building

Washburn is located at C2 on the attached campus map. Parking is available in the garage on 6th Street, north of Florida Avenue (B1 on the map).

When:
Opening reception
Thursday, February 18, 2016
4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

The show runs from Monday, February 15 to Friday, March 4, 2016.

Why:
For 32 years Dr. Johnston has taught at Gallaudet and has been a member of the art department since 1988. He also was a founding member of De’VIA (an acronym for Deaf View Image Art). This group of artists and scholars collaborated on how to discuss and generate art based on deaf experiences. In an experimental design class at Penn State, Dr. Johnston taught the same concept to hearing students empowering them to translate their hearing access into art.

Dr. Johnston is a frequent lecturer, exhibition juror, moderator, and guest artist at venues in the U.S. and Europe. In 2011 he was artist in residence at Siena Art Institute in Siena, Italy.

Expressive in many mediums, Dr. Johnston was the first person to receive a bachelor of fine arts in furniture design and woodworking from the School for American Craftsman at Rochester Institute of Technology. He holds a master’s and doctoral degree in art education with Phi Delta Kappa honors from Penn State University.

His visual artistry is not confined to canvas. As an actor, Dr. Johnston was a company member of the National Theatre of the Deaf, and faculty member of the Division of Performing Arts at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He was an original designer of Signing Mime-a performing company-where he wrote and directed two experimental plays. He has taught and led workshops and lectures on ASL poetry, creative signing and visual gestural communication.

Contact:
Kaitlin Luna, Coordinator of Media and Public Relations
(202) 448-7106 voice
(202) 250-2973 videophone
(585) 507-1705 mobile/text
kaitlin.luna@gallaudet.ed