Past Things and Present: Jasper Johns since 1983

Past Things and Present includes some 90 works by the iconic American artist Jasper Johns exploring the artist’s work over the past two decades through a selection of paintings, prints and drawings. One of the forerunners the Pop Art movement, Johns has exercised a profound influence on western painting of the second half of the 20th-century consistently reinventing himself in response to new stimuli. During the early 1980s his approach shifted and viewers began to see a much more personal approach in his work – with its imagery becoming increasingly autobiographical. His recent work is full of references to his studio and home, to his childhood and to his own work and the work of other artists while his earlier work famously included commonly seen symbols such as the US flag, alphabet letters, numerals, and household or studio objects such as paintbrushes, brooms and tableware. The exhibition introduces new motifs that present a dramatic shift in his approach to image making.  

By Jasper Johns (Artist), Joan Rothfuss (Editor), Victor Stoichita (Text by), Richard Shiff (Text by), Kathy Halbreich (Foreword by)