MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- When Jasper Johnss paintings of flags and targets debuted in 1958, they brought him instant acclaim and established him as a critical link between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. In the ensuing 60 years, Johns (US, b. 1930) has continued to astonish viewers with the beauty and complexity of his paintings, drawings, sculpture, and prints. Today, he is considered one of the 20th centurys greatest American artists.
In celebration of the artists 90th birthday, An Art of Changes surveys six decades of Johnss work in printmaking, highlighting his experiments with familiar, abstract, and personal imagery that play with memory and visual perception in endlessly original ways. The exhibition features some 90 works in intaglio, lithography, woodcut, linoleum cut, screenprinting, and lead relief all drawn from the Walkers comprehensive collection of the artists prints.
Organized in four thematic sections, the show follows Johns through the years as he revises and recycles key motifs over time, including the American flag, numerals, and the English alphabet, which he describes as things the mind already knows. Some works explore artists tools, materials, and techniques. Others explore signature aspects of the artists distinctive mark-making, including flagstones and hatch marks, while later pieces teem with autobiographical imagery. To underscore Johnss fascination with the changes that occur when an image is reworked in another medium, the prints will be augmented by a small selection of paintings and sculptures.
Curator: Joan Rothfuss, guest curator, Visual Arts.