Jasper Johns
The Paul J. Sachs Prints and Illustrated Books Galleries, second floor
December 5, 2008-February 16, 2009
Focus: Jasper Johns celebrates the acquisition of a new series of works on paper by Jasper Johns (American, b. 1930) with an exhibition of a selection of paintings, drawings, and prints, all from the Museum’s collection. In Johns's untitled series of 13 compositions from 2001, based on his “Catenary” theme, he utilized acrylic, collage, watercolor, and gouache, over aquatint and etching, to layer various motifs and reveal new meanings. The series constitutes a revealing display of the artist’s creative process and will be seen in the context of other works, in a variety of mediums, which demonstrate Johns’s longstanding practice of re-investigating a repertoire of images, including flags, numerals, cross-hatchings, body parts, and studies of the four seasons. Organized by Deborah Wye, The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Chief Curator for Prints and Illustrated Books, The Museum of Modern Art.
Jasper Johns, Untitled. 2001. Acrylic over aquatint and etching from an untitled series of thirteen unique works on paper. Composition: 18 3/16 x 26 13/16" (46.2 x 68.1 cm); sheet: 24 15/16 x 32 9/16" (63.4 x 82.7 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Anonymous fractional and promised gift. © Jasper Johns and U.L.A.E. / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.