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Angela Johal

@johal_geometrics

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Chromesthetic geometric paintings inspired by music | California Minimalism | Galleries listed on website

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For this Euphonic Colour painting, I came up with this composition as I was playing with multiple pie shapes. I created the square center areas to float and recede at the same time which creates a nice optical effect. The central, negative white spaces become curved diamond shapes which might become focal points, but they direct the eye back to the brightly striped bands. The outer edges form scalloped shapes which creates a nice outer rhythm. The paint colors are chosen intuitively while listening to music with no color pattern in mind which helps to hold the viewer’s interest longer.

Euphonic Colour No. 22, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 24 in

#contemporaryart #opticalillusion #color #geometric #angelajohal

@bendergallery by @johal_geometrics

This Music of the Spheres painting explores the interaction between red and violet. As the colors move closer together they become rich shades of reddish purple and as they move further apart, they lighten to pink and lavender shades. The four spheres reveal an illusion of transparency painted in flat color fields and are suggestive of the sounds that may resonate from the celestial bodies. This painting may also be viewed as non-representational, minimalist and reductive. The spheres gently lift the eye upwards which has a meditative and calming effect on the emotions.

Music of the Spheres No. 19, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

#artnow #opticalillusion #minimalart #color #angelajohal

@slate_art by @johal_geometrics

I was inspired by my No. 24 painting and decided to design another painting in a similar but unique composition with a balance between warm and cool colors. I created a vivid, hot pinky-red and bluish purple, plums and various shades of gray. I like to cross colors so that they might shift with the changing light throughout the day. I also wanted to work with a new, 72 x 60 inch canvas size. Vertically, the diamond shapes become more dominant and zigzag back and forth which creates a nice rhythm. Horizontally, the painting takes on a landscape feel of mountain-like and architectural shapes. These two ideas echo the dichotemies of a vertical direction which is suggestive of the spiritual where the energy rises upward and the horizontal view which is more physical and grounded. I like the layered effect of these paintings and how the eye keeps moving because of a more abstract and irregular pattern. No. 24 had a tribal and earthy feel, whereas this painting seems to have an 80s dance vibe and is a bit romantic.

Polychromatic Scale No. 25, 2026, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 in

#artnow #opticalillusion #color #geometric #angelajohal by @johal_geometrics

With this Portals painting, the horizontal and vertical shapes intersect. The electric red central area is the initial focal point that emanates upwards and downwards, but horizontally the reds soften to light mauves when gray is added which gives the illusion of a grayed transparent horizontal band. This also balances the strong verticals. At a distance, the geometric shapes blend and the central area becomes an elliptical color gradation that dissipates as the eye moves outward. This painting works equally well if placed horizontally.

Portals No. 34, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48

#portals #artnow #opticalillusion #geometric #angelajohal

@slate_art by @johal_geometrics

I have been working on a new Polychromatic Scale painting. The 72 x 60 canvas size is a new size for me and I like the human scale of it. I am choosing colors intuitively and it is finally coming together.

Polychromatic Scale No. 25, 2026, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 in

#inthestudio #artnow #opticalillusion #geometric #angelajohal by @johal_geometrics

Angela Johal’s pieces are inspired by her connection to music, which she doesn’t paint without. Hear about her echoing, rhythmic paintings from Johal herself. And don’t forget to visit Angela Johal: Intersecting Colour, at SLATE Contemporary Gallery in Oakland, now until November 14!

#AngelaJohal #IntersectingColour #SLATEGallery #geometricartwork #bayareaart by @johal_geometrics

My new Rhythm & Colour painting is included in my solo exhibition at Illumine Gallery in Palm Springs. For this Rhythm & Colour painting, I first painted the gray shadows and then started painting the dots as they appeared in my mind intuitively. I see these paintings as color puzzles where I try to keep a balance between warm and cool colors and lights to darks. There are 36 different dot colors that appear to be floating off of the canvas. The lower left gray shadows beneath each dot creates an illusion of a gray gradation which makes each dot appear to be back lit and lifting upwards to the right. After dots appear randomly and dance about rhythmically in the white spaces. The minimal placement of dots have a quiet and orderly appearance at first, but become full of energy and movement with a longer look and there is a sense of illumination and suggestion of sound with this painting.

Rhythm & Colour No. 46, 2026, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 in

#contemporaryart #dots #opticalillusion #color #angelajohal

@illuminegalleryps by @johal_geometrics

For this Portals painting, I have chosen an elongated rectangular shape that has been rounded. It acknowledges its place within the shape of the canvas but it floats about as if it could easily morph into an alternate shape. The central “gothic” portal becomes the initial focal point which directs the eye upward towards the heavens, yet the lower arch points downward towards the earth, uniting both directions. There are three entrances: straight, from the left and to the right. This creates a nice shifting pattern and optical effect. The left and right shapes curve and become rounded archways that overlap and create an illusion of transparency. The rounded shape also becomes a symbol of infinity.

Portals No. 37, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 24 in

#portals #angelajohal #opticalullusion #artnow #geometric

@slate_art by @johal_geometrics

For this Intersecting Colour piece, I am painting with six different colors in various proportions and revealing how they interact with one another. I really enjoy mixing colors and discovering new colors that I haven’t experienced before. I am challenging myself to create interesting compositions with a lesser regularity of repeated shapes. My aim is to create complex paintings in this series that are minimalistic yet beautiful and vibrant, where the viewer can explore how colors darken and lighten, change and blend. Creating a balance between warm, cool, neutral, soft and vibrant color is also in my mind and for there to be a sense of movement. This painting has ended up having both an architectural and landscape feel, but may also be viewed as non-representational.

Intersecting Colour No. 1, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36

#artnow #contemporaryart #opticalillusion #color #angelajohal

@slate_art by @johal_geometrics

With this Polychromatic Scale painting, I have painted a grid pattern where the negative spaces in white reveal soft, gray dot illusions that appear to dance about in these spaces. This painting works well either horizontally or vertically. I have used mainly mixed colors and I challenge myself to create colors that I haven’t used before. There is a nice, waterfall effect where each color lightens in the smaller band and is then mixed with the next color in the medium sized bands which reveals how they interact and connects them which keeps the eye moving. I purposefully created pauses with the darker colors to slow the movement. If the eye travels horizontally along the main colors, the gray dots appear darker in the white spaces. This painting has a meditative, yet energetic effect, and there is a lot to see and enjoy here.

Polychromatic Scale No. 18, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in

#artnow #angelajohal #opticalillusion #color #geometric

@galeriedebellefeuille by @johal_geometrics

Please stop by Slate Contemporary Gallery to see my solo exhibition, Intersecting Colour, located in the Rockridge area. You may also view the exhibition paintings online at SlateContemporary.com. Thank you, Slate for curating the show and to Henrik Kam Photography for the lovely photos.

#intersectingcolour #soloexhibition #angelajohal #contemporaryart #slatecontemporarygallery

@slate_art by @johal_geometrics

I began this City Colour painting with a drawing of small rectangles and then I began subtracting and adding to those shapes. I was inspired by my Intersecting Colour No. 20 square painting and wanted this painting to be vertical, and work horizontally as well. This painting has a combination of cherry red, crimson, orange, yellows, greens, grayish purples, blues, grays and white. I always begin painting the darker colors and work toward the lights. I mix small amounts of neighboring colors to create a connection between colors and have added grays to most of the colors to soften them but to keep some vivid. I rarely use colors from the tube, but prefer to alter them as to be less recognizable and unique. I work hard to avoid any strong focal points, where the eye keeps moving and experiencing the movement of individual colors. Some of the deeper colors are congregated to give the feeling of architecture, but the painting may also be viewed as non-representational. I love the way the whole painting changes with each new color added, how some colors recede and others float to the surface, and the illusion of layered shapes that adds a three-dimensional quality to the painting.

City Colour No. 2, 2026, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

#artnow #color #geometric #opticalillusion #angelajohal

@slate_art by @johal_geometrics