LeRoi Johnson and Reo Gallery

Reo Gallery opened up Thursday evening on Main St. near Summer in Buffalo, NY.  LeRoi Johnson had the honor of having the first exhibition to christen the old car showroom.

 

According to http://leroicallwelljohnson.com…

Born in Buffalo, New York, LeRoi C. Johnson was raised a catholic in an eastside project in Buffalo, New York and later became a prominent Buffalo attorney. He is a Canisius College graduate, attended the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Design and is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.

LeRoi is a remarkable painter. He is almost completely self-taught. His early bright colorful work is implicitly autobiographical in theme. Among his influences are his training in commercial art and his sophisticated African Art Collection of thirty years. He successfully fuses geometric abstraction with both his personal experiences and African themes. Lately his style has altered; it has become less geometric and more representational of his human experience, especially as an African American. He is now less personal and more antidotal.

Here are some thoughts...

• His work seems to fit into three categories… personal, decorative, and commercial.  I favor his personal works.
• The pieces that are most successful are those that keep to a traditional kind of format... his cubist and surreal paintings seem less authentic and lacking in substance... in other words, the simpler the painting the better, ie. the basketball players,  the naked African woman supposedly leaving her husband and home, and the man at the train station

Here are some of my favorites from the show...