Lee Johnson, The Graveyard Where Willy Lott is Buried (study), 2023-24, 24x18cm

"Since my father's dementia diagnosis, I have been caring for him in Suffolk, taking long walks in 'Constable Country' (as Constable said: "all those things that lie on the banks of the Stour, they made me a painter") to take a break from the pain of situation.

Discovering Willy Lott's gravestone in St Mary's Church, East Bergholt, a few hundred yards from where John Constable grew up (and a further few hundred yards from where my nieces go to school) was a revelation. Willy Lott was a local farmer who rented a cottage from Constable's father, which still stands today, and can be seen stage-left in 'The Hay Wain'.

While Willy's gravestone is unremarkable, a nearby yew tree grows over - and seemingly out of - a now unreadable stone. Yew trees are very common in English graveyards, often planted above graves to provide protection in the afterlife. And this particular yew had a shape not unlike my dad's brain scan, the near-black yew looking like the end-game of dad's dementia. For me, this is a perfect subject for a painting.

And this has led to a prolonged period of painting trees in a number of ways - not for their individual form as such, but more as a symbol - how they are representative of not only landscape but also resilience and connectivity. Indeed, recent research shows that trees communicate through their complex root systems, so they are not simply isolated entities but belong to a wider family or community, protecting and nurturing their young, and growing stronger together with - and because of - each other. This is a good analogy for my paintings, which are also not isolated entities, but are connected to each other - motifs, colours, fluidity of line, memories are all elements that link seemingly different paintings together."

Lee Johnson was born in Wiltshire, and has lived and worked in London since 2000. He received his MA Fine Art from Central Saint Martins School of Art in 2001, and his works are held in the prestigious collections of Soho House; Kettle's Yard, Cambridge; University of the Arts London; and numerous private collections wordwide (including UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, USA, and Australia).

Johnson was selected for the prestigious John Moores Painting Prize at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, in 2010, and the Contemporary British Painting Prize in 2025, and was the winner of the inaugural Lido Stores Open, Margate in 2021. He has exhibited widely, most notably in public institutions including Hastings Contemporary; Kettle's Yard, Cambridge; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Huddersfield Art Gallery; and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, Ar Tower Agora, Athens; Gozo Contemporary, Malta.

Artist Statement

I make paintings as an emotional response to external stimuli, reacting to things around me. Painting for me is about thinking, the reactive nature of seeing and listening to things. It's about feeling, and ultimately about living one's life, scrabbling together poetic responses to understand - not depict - a life lived.