I am a multidisciplinary visual artist exploring alternative material, and relationships with our more-than-human companions with whom we share this earth. My practice explores transformation, and the use of provisional materials. Through dreams, fantasy, practicality, escapism, and speculation, I work towards imagining possibilities of the present and future. This actualizes through painting, and creating situations of engagement. Forming relationships with animals and plants has always grounded me. By interrupting constructs based in speciesism and separation, my practice works to envision a future of life interconnected against environmental catastrophe.

Whitney Johnson-Lessard is a Peoria, Illinois-based artist. She received a BFA in Painting from Illinois State University, and an MFA in Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally. She has been awarded a number of grants, including support from the Arts Partners of Central Illinois, and the Illinois Arts Council. She has recently been a resident at Alderworks Artists and Writers Retreat in Dyea, Alaska. She is a professor and teaches at Bradley University and Illinois Central College.

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