Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston graduated with a BFA in furniture design and woodworking from RIT. While at RIT, he was involved with the NTID Drama Club. He obtained his doctorate in art education at Penn State in 1988 and recently retired from Gallaudet University as an art faculty. He is one the nine founders of Deaf View Image Art (De’VIA) movement.
Johnston is a sculpture and painter who views himself as a semi-abstract artist who mixes fantasy and familiarity together. Johnston tends to work with themes that embrace Deaf issues and non-Deaf issues alike. His art might be whimsical on the outside, but the art piece holds linguistic, educational, and individualist philosophy. With these aspects, Johnston seeks to connect with other deaf individuals a sense of pride, freedom, and capability. At the same time he wants to educate the hearing community about experiences within the deaf culture and discard incorrect assumptions about the deaf community.