Mitchell Johnson Unveils Latest Art Collection in Paris
Mitchell Johnson: Capturing Paris in Paint at Flea Street, Menlo Park
Through August 26, 2025, the walls of Flea Street in Menlo Park, California, are home to a remarkable display of paintings by the acclaimed artist Mitchell Johnson. This exhibition highlights his enchanting Parisian landscapes, a reflection of his deep-seated connection with the city—an engagement that dates back to 1989, when he was a graduate student at Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Johnson’s dedication to painting Parisian views comes on the heels of his successful retrospective at the Musée Villa Les Camélias in Cap D’Ail, France, last summer. This transition to a new series centers on Paris’ mesmerizing architecture and nuanced cityscapes, showcasing his evolving perspective gained from years of visiting and painting in France.
In a recent reflection, Johnson described a spontaneous decision that altered his artistic journey. During a television interview for MonacoInfo, amidst his retrospective, he casually mentioned renting an apartment in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. Drawn by the area’s superb lighting and diverse architecture visible from his apartment on Rue de Nice, Johnson found inspiration in its ever-changing facades and the “singular light” that characterized his experience there.
Exploring Paris on foot, particularly his walks to the Seine and through historic districts, infused his work with fresh visual energy and opened his eyes to new artistic possibilities in capturing the city’s essence. Johnson’s creative process involved a mix of photographs, sketches, and collaging different times of day into singular, harmonious paintings reflecting his internalized Parisian experience.
Beyond individual artistic explorations, Johnson’s time in Paris also resulted in various exhibits, including a pop-up in the Marais and a solo showcase at Galerie Mercier near where artist Edward Hopper once resided. As he navigated the city’s metro, delivering his art which included works of other beloved locations such as San Francisco, Truro, New York City, and Newfoundland, Johnson unlocked new color palettes that enriched his Paris creations.
Johnson’s superb artistic contributions are widely recognized, with his paintings enshrined in over 35 museum collections; they have also been featured in prestigious publications like The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and WSJ Magazine. His artwork graces films such as “The Holiday,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and “It’s Complicated.”
Following the fantastic Menlo Park exhibition, art enthusiasts can anticipate “Twenty Years in Truro,” another of Johnson’s anticipated showcases at Truro Center for the Arts in Massachusetts starting September 3 through September 14, 2025. His work is also part of “Recent Acquisitions” at the Cape Cod Museum of Art until July 23, 2025.
For more insights into Mitchell Johnson’s artistry, visit his website at mitchelljohnson.com and follow his Instagram journey @mitchell_johnson_artist.