The signature look of Richard A. Johnson's work has been described as Abstract Illusionism, but throughout the years, Johnson has explored how to push the limitations of this art historical category. Today, his painting technique incorporates acrylic and collage. Layers of ambiguous subject matter pile on top one another in an enigmatic composition where although some forms might be based in reality, they are deconstructed beyond the point of recognition. Texture, color value, and three-dimensional space are relevant to the component parts of the painting. Recently retired from teaching with the Department of Fine Arts at the University of New Orleans, Johnson still keeps a studio on UNO's campus. Johnson has had one-artist shows in Rome; New York City; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; New Orleans; and New London, Connecticut. His paintings have been included in shows at such museums as the New Orleans Museum of Art; the Denver Museum of Art in Colorado; the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas; and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Johnson’s work can be found in numerous public and private collections, such as the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia; the New Orleans Museum of Art; the Pensacola Museum of Art in Florida; Tulane University Law School in New Orleans; the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama; the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa; the British Museum in London, England; the Alexandria Museum of Art in Louisiana; the Equitable Life Insurance Society in New York City; Phillip Morris Inc. in New York City; and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.