Born in 1968 and raised in San Jose, California, Chris Johanson started making art in the mid-1980s, when he festooned his self-published skateboard ‘zine Karmaboarder with ironic cartoons that mashed-up punks, hippies and new age characters in a most hilarious way. Throughout the ’90s, Chris lived in San Francisco, where he continued skating and making art inspired by the harsh realities of life in the Mission District.

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He gradually graduated from small gallery shows to larger venues in the early 2000s like the Hammer, where he had ample space to expand his rough-honed drawings and paintings into expansive 3-D installations that celebrated the beautifully ugly ways of inner city life. Chris has since had his work featured in numerous museums, including the Whitney Biennial in 2002, and he also received the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s SECA Experimental Design Award that same year. He now lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Too bad you don’t. Or do you? You sneaky little thing.

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Text and photos ©2001 Arcane Candy.