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Jasper Johns

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  • Works in the Kenneth E. Tyler Collection
  • Further Reading

Black and white photograph of Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns with his 'black numeral' series, Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, 1968.

Photographer: Malcolm Lubliner

Jasper Johns (born 1930) was one of a stable of emerging artists attached to the New York gallery of Leo Castelli in the 1960s—which included, among others, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and Frank Stella. A convivial sales pitch from Ken Tyler convinced Johns that he should work with Gemini GEL in Los Angeles. Johns arrived in 1969 with a clear idea in mind. He wanted to work on Tyler’s ‘gorgeous’ lithographic stones—which had been ferreted out by Tyler from an old building site and carted away in an elderly VW with broken springs.

The artist selected 10 large stones and, treasuring their quality and feel, started drawing on every one of them, making a series of numerals from 0–9, to be printed in black. Johns then turned his attention to printing a coloured series of numerals from the same stones, but with rainbow rolls—the stone inked with a roller loaded with several coloured inks at the same time.

In his art Johns drew on the Dada tradition of the ‘ready–made’, with often humorous, sometimes austere, results. He appropriated and refined his own work constantly. His first Toothbrush of 1959 was a cast sculpmetal version of this prosaic object, with the bristles replaced by teeth. This image of the toothbrush re–appeared in a series of relief sculptures Johns made with Tyler in 1969. For this series of five reliefs Johns revisited other previous subject matter—as well as the toothbrush, the series included a shoe with a mirror, a flag, a light bulb, and a slice of bread.

Jane Kinsman

Works in the Kenneth E. Tyler Collection


  • Jasper Johns, Gemini G.E.L., Gemini G.E.L.

    Bent "U"; from Fragments - according to what
    1971

  • Jasper Johns, Gemini G.E.L., Gemini G.E.L.

    Figure 5; from Color numeral series
    1969

  • Jasper Johns, Gemini G.E.L., Gemini G.E.L.

    Bread; from Lead relief series
    1969

Browse all works by Jasper Johns

Further Reading


EXHIBITIONS

  • Rauschenberg & Johns: Significant Others, 2022
  • Lichtenstein to Warhol: The Kenneth Tyler Collection, 2019–20
  • American Masters, 2018
  • Printed Light, 2004
  • The Big Americans: The art of collaboration, 2002–03
  • Wall to wall, 1998–99
  • Jasper Johns: Prints 1968–1980, 5 April – 13 July 1997
  • Pop! Prints from the 1960s and 1970s, 8 June 1991 – 24 May 1992
  • Word as image, 10 March – 4 June 1989
  • Come Up and See Our Etchings: Intaglio prints from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, 16 December 1989 – 4 March 1990
  • The Artist and the Printer, 29 November 1986 – 10 May 1987
  • Print by Print, Step by Step: Artists’ prints in series, 9 March – 16 June 1985
  • Ken Tyler: Printer extraordinary, 6 June – 13 October 1985

NATIONAL GALLERY PUBLICATIONS

  • Lichtenstein to Warhol: The Kenneth Tyler Collection, Jane Kinsman, exhibition catalogue, 2019
  • American Masters, Lucina Ward (ed.), exhibition catalogue, 2018
  • Workshop: The Kenneth Tyler Collection, Jane Kinsman (ed.), 2015
  • The Art of Collaboration: The Big Americans, Jane Kinsman, 2002
  • Ken Tyler Printer Extraordinary, 1985

TYLER GRAPHICS PUBLICATIONS

  • Lithographs Gemini G.E.L., 1968

Related


Rauschenberg & Johns: Significant Others

It’s complicated

Artist Gary Carsley reflects on Rauschenberg and Johns's creative collusion

Curator's Top 6
Rauschenberg & Johns: significant others

Ahead of the opening of Rauschenberg & Johns: significant others, curator David Greenhalgh shares his highlights from the exhibition.

Public art, private lives: Rauschenberg & Johns

A black and white image of two men sitting around a rectangular table with crockery and food, and a brick wall behind them

A chance meeting made a profound impact on the lives – and art – of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, writes David Greenhalgh.

Exhibition

Rauschenberg & Johns
significant others

Print in black and navy on white backbround with the word BLUE in capital letters and the mirror image of it

11 Jun – 30 Oct 2022

This exhibition draws upon the National Gallery’s Kenneth Tyler Collection of prints by both Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.

The Kenneth E. Tyler Collection

Perception Test

Black and white photo of The embossing plate for ‘Light bulb; from Lead relief series’ is cleaned by an unidentified staff member

Assistant curator Anja Loughhead discusses Jasper Johns' expressions of impermanence within his practice

Exhibition

Lichtenstein to Warhol
The Kenneth Tyler Collection

A print of Richard Nixon in blue, red, and yellow with the words "vote MCGOVERN" below

7 Sep 2019—9 Mar 2020

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