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A whimsical new fine art installation by Bay Area artist Johnny Botts opened Thursday at the Firehouse Arts Center. Botts is known in California and beyond for his fanciful works featuring space robots, popular global destinations, and a healthy dose of humor.
The show was timed to occur during the free IGNITE! Festival celebrating innovative arts and technology that takes place in and around the arts center from 5-9 p.m. Saturday.
“Letting go is part of the fun,” Botts said. “On impulse, I added a small cartoon robot to one of my paintings, and now robots have completely taken over my artwork.”
Botts said he is interested in painting, robots, flying saucers, aliens, cartoons, illustration, science and science fiction. His formal education is in engineering and business, and he was a Silicon Valley rocket scientist, designing equipment for outer space.
“Some of that seems to come through with the themes I choose,” he noted with a laugh.
Botts has painted murals at Facebook headquarters, sold pieces to Capitol One, and had artwork published in the Arts and Entertainment section of the New York Times.
“When I’m painting, I think about the kinds of positive messages I want around me and put them into my work,” he said. “From a young age I decided to approach life with a positive attitude. I want my world to be a place that is uplifting, encouraging and playful.”
Harrington Gallery director Julie Finegan said she was pleased to find Botts to display at this time.
“I was looking for an artist whose work might reflect some of the activities of the IGNITE! Festival … with a nod to technology in some way, and his is an interesting, cheerful and artful approach,” she said. “Plus I love the fact that he was a bona fide rocket scientist in a past life, and that now he paints space robots.”
Botts’ works will remain on display through Nov. 4, in the Harrington Gallery’s Atrium Gallery.