Jasper Johns (1930)
Photo source: pbs.org
In the late 1950’s, Jasper Johns emerged as force in the American art scene. His richly worked paintings of maps, flags, and targets led the artistic community away from Abstract Expressionism toward a new emphasis on the concrete. Johns laid the groundwork for both Pop Art and Minimalism. Johns’ concern for process led him to printmaking.For Johns, printmaking was a medium that encouraged experimentation through the ease with which it allowed for repeat endeavors. His innovations in screen printing, lithography, and etching have revolutionized the field.
(Read the rest of the biography here.)
In January 1958, marking his first solo New York exhibition, his painting Target with Four Faces (1955) was featured on the cover of Artnews magazine, thrusting this virtually unknown artist into the public view. A master in many media, Johns is a printmaker of immense curiosity and skill. Since 1960, when he made his first lithographs, he has added etching, screenprint, and other techniques to his repertoire, and he has completed more than three hundred editions .
(Source: nga.gov)
Lithographic crayon
Click here for the Jasper Johns exhibition States and Variations (nga.gov)
Click here to view a variety of Johns' printmaking.
Focus: Jasper Johns - Interactive
Click here for the interactive exhibition (Source: MoMA)
Click here for extensive collection of Jasper Johns' prints.
