Johnny DeFeo’s new exhibition, Wild America, is aptly named for his infatuation with the last remaining unspoiled landscapes of the United States. The core of DeFeo’s painting practice is working en plein air, painting in the outdoors amidst the beauty of America’s most pristine landscapes. Following in the footsteps of artists such as Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church, and Albert Bierstadt, DeFeo delights in documenting American public lands through his paintings and expands upon the work of such artists with commentary on the negative effects of human intervention.
In the studio, DeFeo often integrates his memories of these landscapes into compositions that combine luxury interiors with unbelievable views. In an age when we are disrupted and distant from the natural world around us, DeFeo imagines homes adorned with decor referencing the landscape in which it is set. His paintings combine the interior and exterior of the home into a singular transcendent place—where the flora and fauna outside extend into the space through inviting and playful design and architecture. DeFeo’s use of perspective sets us not only as viewers but as participants in this landscape and home, fulfilling the desire within us to experience a connection with nature.
Most recently, DeFeo has been bringing his plein air painting practice indoors, setting up his easel to paint taxidermy collections in unexpected places such as the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and Cabela’s Outfitters. An extension of his interiors series, DeFeo is subtly introducing symbols into his work that act as disruptors to the utopic residential spaces he creates. For DeFeo, these scenes of taxidermy collections nod to the strained relationship between humankind and wild animals. Once full of life, these majestic creatures have become trophies- inert, powerless, and decorative. With both the interiors and taxidermy paintings, the artist points to humankind’s struggle with a desire to control and dominate the natural world, even while we also hold a deep love and respect for it.
