Young up-and-coming American photographer Leigh Johnson has been on our radar for some time now. Her work featured across eleven pages of our 2007 Design Awards issue (W*96) – not bad considering she only completed her photography MFA at Yale last year.
See more of Leigh Johnson's photographs
Her fresh, raw aesthetic feels at once playful and mature, unassuming but purposeful. Even her simplest pictures compel further scrutiny. Some of her latest work, titled Hard Shoulder, is currently on show at the Journal Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, until November 12 – a series of sombre, almost blank-faced self-portraits that seem to hide as much as they reveal.
A definite name to watch, we thought we’d take the opportunity to showcase some of Johnson’s earlier work alongside images from the current show.
ADDRESS
The Journal Gallery
168 North 1st St
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
-
‘I want to bring anxiety to the surface': Shannon Cartier Lucy on her unsettling worksIn an exhibition at Soft Opening, London, Shannon Cartier Lucy revisits childhood memories
-
What one writer learnt in 2025 through exploring the ‘intimate, familiar’ wardrobes of ten friendsInspired by artist Sophie Calle, Colleen Kelsey’s ‘Wearing It Out’ sees the writer ask ten friends to tell the stories behind their most precious garments – from a wedding dress ordered on a whim to a pair of Prada Mary Janes
-
Year in review: 2025’s top ten cars chosen by transport editor Jonathan BellWhat were our chosen conveyances in 2025? These ten cars impressed, either through their look and feel, style, sophistication or all-round practicality
