Whitney Johnson-Lessard's work is guided by transformation, concerns of a habitable future, and relationships with the more-than-human world. She engages with living beings and their temporalities, and is guided by the lives and stories of materials.
Whitney lives and works in Peoria, Illinois. She received an Associate's degree from Illinois Central College in 2014, a BFA from Illinois State University in 2017, and an MFA from Northwestern University in 2022. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in central Illinois. She has recently participated in a residency program with Project 1612 in Peoria, and exhibited work with the artist-run curatorial project Lease Agreement. She is a professor and teaches drawing and painting.