“Grand. Vibrant. Aggressive. Powerful.” - Art Reveal Magazine
“I see a postmodern man shaking off his false identities and dancing naked in front of the primordial fire.” - Amber Christianson, Artist
"Bright, brash and bold" - Shana Nys Dambrot, LAWEEKLY[more PRESS]
ABOUT JOHNNY OTTO
Johnny Otto is a self-taught contemporary Artist & Activist based in Los Angeles. In 2021 he published Art Squat Magazine. He was born in Bay Village, Ohio in 1966, the grandson of Czech and German immigrants.
Often compared to Basquiat, Haring and Picasso, Otto’s work is actually influenced by a trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, which he visited as a child and where
he was exposed to their vast collection of African Art. His work is dedicated to his Father who exposed him to art at an ealry age and to his brother Eric who passed away
in 2000 and was also obsessed with African Art.
"An Artist needs to be a lion. Wild and free. When I paint, I don’t worry about what people might think of my work or how they might categorize it or try to compare
it to other artists that have come before me. I just paint for the love of painting. Madly and unimpeded. I am not part of a 'movement' when I create. I am not a 'Neo-Expressionist.' I’m not one of the 'wild ones', or one of the 'New Fauves'.
I am not Basquiat or Haring. They had their moments of inspiration and tergiversation. I have mine."
{read Otto's entire Manifesto in Left Bank Magazine HERE }
Otto's work spans more than 35 years and includes shows with David Hockney (Angel Art Fundraiser Auction), 01 Gallery, Headquarters, Jeff Hamilton's Street Art Fair, Radiant Space, Ministry Gallery, Art Squat,
Novian-Miller Space, and many others. His work is collected around the world by Art Collectors, Fellow Artists, Designers, from Los Angeles to Japan, Germany and France. Otto often donates a portion of his proceeds to organizations around the world which serve to enrich mankind, including Drop in the Bucket, the ACLU, and the Los Angeles Foodbank.
JOHNNY OTTO / Conspiracy + Propaganda = Art 
ABOUT JOHNNY OTTO
