Kevin Johnson: "The Outsider" - Fountain Square Library - June 9, 2004 - 1 1/2 stars

Five paintings made for this exhibit in the wall space above the book shelves. Carefully and skillfully rendered, the three portrait pieces lacked inspiration. They were too cautious, so much so that they have an outsider, or untrained quality due, in part, to the subject matter and symbolism. In one piece, a seductive magazine ad-looking woman borders the side, melding into a band of blue paint. To the right of her, on a flat black canvas, a large rose is blooming while below that a blue marble world just floats, like the rose, in blackness. In another painting, a person is crying with an image of an apple as the world below. My advice to this artist is to just start sketching people in informal settings and break loose from the restrictive style. Johnson has the skills for a more individualistic approach. Through July 31, 2004; 317-269-1877. –Mary Lee Pappas