An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960–2018

An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960–2018
16.02.2020 - 20.09.2020

Curator: Joan Rothfuss, guest curator, Visual Arts

When Jasper Johns’s paintings of flags and targets debuted in 1958, their unprecedented combination of textured surfaces and recognizable images established him as a fresh new voice in American art. Although best known for those early paintings, Johns (b. 1930) has also produced hundreds of lithographs, intaglios, and screenprints since 1960.

In celebration of the artist’s 90th birthday, An Art of Changes surveys Johns’s printmaking practice through a selection of some 90 works in a variety of mediums. Beginning with his first lithograph, Target (1960), viewers can trace the artist’s exploration of common motifs as they are recycled, revised, or rendered differently over the course of six decades.

The exhibition is arranged into four thematic sections, showcasing familiar symbols and alphabets, abstract patterns borrowed from the environment, examinations of artists’ tools and materials, and later works teeming with more personal imagery. The range of prints reflects an important aspect of Johns’s complex body of work—often considered one of the most influential of 20th-century American art.

Exhibition Tour:
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: October 12, 2019–January 20, 2020
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis: February 16–September 20, 2020
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Michigan: October 24, 2020–January 24, 2021
Tampa Art Museum, Florida: April 28–September 6, 2021
Parrish Art Museum, Long Island, NY: May 1–July 31, 2022

An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960–2018 is organized by the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Major support is provided by Martha and Bruce Atwater and Judy Dayton. Additional support is provided by Robert and Rebecca Pohlad and Annette and John Whaley.