I work in multiple disciplines to explore provisionality through alternative material, and relationships with our more-than-human companions. Through fantasy, practicality, and speculation, I work towards imagining possibilities of the present and future. I create paintings that are invested in materiality. My practice also invokes situations of engagement. Participants are often invited to interact with plants, mushrooms, and found objects both inside and outside of the gallery space. Forming relationships with animals and plants has always grounded me. By interrupting constructs based in speciesism and separation, my practice works to envision life interconnected.

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. Johnson-Lessard 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. Whitney is a professor and currently teaches at Bradley University and Illinois Central College.