David Johns

David Johns (Diné) is a painter from Seba Dalkai, Arizona. Johns spent his formative years with his grandmother, who instilled in him a respect for Navajo traditions and the land, plants, and animals that supported his ancestors. This early cultural education is a defining aspect of Johns' work, which combines his formal fine arts training with his Navajo heritage and way of life.

Since 1976, Johns' work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with selected solo exhibitions at Navajo Tribal Museum, Window Rock, Arizona; C.G. Rein Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico; The Concord Place, Phoenix, Arizona; Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico; Palais de Nations, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland; and the Lanning Gallery, Sedona, Arizona. He holds a BFA and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Northern Arizona University. He is the Vice President of the Diné Hataałii Association, an organization of Navajo Medicine Men and Women.