DAVID OTIS JOHNSON currently lives and works in Southern California, where he focuses on fine art and neon art creation. He earned a BA in Fine Art from Hastings College in Hastings, NE, where he also studied Biology and Art History. Following this, he worked for textile sculptor Sheila Hicks in Paris, France, bent neon at the Hollywood School of Neon in Hollywood, FL, and obtained an MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, CA. Johnson is a dedicated steward of neon, not only in his own artwork but also in the art restoration of notable works by other artists, including movie props and other beacons of cultural significance. 

Johnson states, “There is purity in neon light; a quality that defies explanation. It is thought that when a pure noble gas, while under vacuum, is excited by high voltage electricity, the atoms that make up that gas lose electrons. The process of electrons floating away and reattaching to other atoms generates light. We, as biological creatures, have light-emitting qualities that are equally as magical. From processing sunlight like a plant to cells producing a flash of light in the womb, we’re quite literally in the infancy of understanding our relationship to this source.