Jasper Johns

Key facts

Born

1930, American

Movement

• Contemporary

Works held in

28 museums^[1]

• Savarin

  National Gallery of Art

  Washington, D.C., United States

  3856 works

  

  Museum detailsMap

Plan your visit to see Jasper Johns →

• Is jasper johns still alive?+

  Yes, Jasper Johns is still alive (born 1930).
• Jasper johns art movement?+

  Jasper Johns is often called a Neo-Dadaist, a Conceptualist, and a Minimalist. His techniques incorporated the sense of spontaneity of Abstract Expressionism.
• What is jasper johns known for?+

  Jasper Johns is recognised for his artworks representing the American flag, targets, beer cans and Coca-Cola bottles. He is a major figure in post-war American art.
• What is Jasper Johns's most famous work?+

  Jasper Johns is most recognised for his paintings of the American flag. He began this subject in 1954-55. These flag paintings are among his most famous and influential works. "Flag" (1954-55) is perhaps his single most well-known piece. It is made with encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on plywood. Encaustic is a wax-based paint that creates a textured surface. The work is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Johns has returned to the flag image repeatedly throughout his career. These later works explore different techniques and meanings. Some use variations in colour, while others incorporate abstract elements. The flags are not always straightforward patriotic symbols. They often invite viewers to consider the nature of representation and perception. By depicting such a familiar object, Johns prompts questions about how we see and interpret the world around us. His flag paintings remain central to discussions of modern art.
• What should I know about Jasper Johns's prints?+

  Jasper Johns began making prints in the late 1950s. His first lithograph, *Target*, was printed and published by Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE). Printmaking has been an important medium for Johns. In 1971, his *Decoy* became the first print made using ULAE's offset press. Interestingly, the image was explored as a print before he created a painting of it. Johns has worked at several major printmaking workshops. These include ULAE; Graphicstudio, at the University of South Florida; and Gemini GEL. Such workshops are collaborative environments. They require a range of equipment, materials, technical knowledge and skills. Print publishers are at the forefront of artistic practice because of this. Workshops can be publishing workshops (where prints are supported and created) or job shops (where printers work for publishers who finance projects). Each workshop has a distinctive character based on the priorities of its founder.
• What style or movement did Jasper Johns belong to?+

  Jasper Johns is considered a major figure in post-war American art. He is often described as a Neo-Dadaist, a Conceptualist, and a Minimalist. Some consider him an important bridge between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. Born in Augusta, Georgia, in 1930, Johns grew up in South Carolina. He studied art at the University of South Carolina and briefly attended the Parsons School of Design in New York. After serving in the Korean War, he returned to New York and met Robert Rauschenberg. Their intense relationship, along with friendships with John Cage and Merce Cunningham, influenced the direction of avant-garde art after the war. Johns gained recognition for artworks representing the American flag, targets, beer cans, and Coca-Cola bottles. His techniques incorporated a sense of spontaneity from Abstract Expressionism, even though his works were closely planned. His style dissolved boundaries between fine art and mass culture. His early work was influenced by Abstract Expressionism. He began using encaustic in 1954 to depict flags, targets, maps, numerals, and letters, treating familiar motifs without illusionism.
• What techniques or materials did Jasper Johns use?+

  Jasper Johns, born in 1930, employs a range of techniques and materials in his art. Early in his career, he favoured encaustic, an ancient medium using wax rather than oil to bind pigment. Johns mixed pigment with molten beeswax or resin, sometimes adding fragments of newspaper and fabric. He applied the mixture and dried it under radiant heat, fusing the elements. Encaustic dries quickly, allowing for the addition of layers. It also offers a degree of translucency, revealing stages of the work and collage elements embedded within the medium. As a glutinous medium, encaustic is best applied with a palette knife, enabling heavy impastos. By 1959, Johns increasingly used oils, corresponding to a more sustained use of pure colour. In 1958, he began working with Sculp-metal and, in 1960, started making cast-bronze sculptures and exploring printmaking. In the 1960s and 1970s, he became interested in screen printing, attracted by the large print runs and layering of saturated colours it offered. Johns also incorporated actual three-dimensional forms into some paintings, such as a ball, a book, or a stretcher.
• What was Jasper Johns known for?+

  Jasper Johns, born in Augusta, Georgia, in 1930, is an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor. He is recognised for artworks depicting the American flag, targets, beer cans, and Coca-Cola bottles. Johns studied art at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, in 1947. He then attended the Parsons School of Design in New York from January to June 1949. After a period of service in Japan, Johns returned to New York, where he met Robert Rauschenberg in late 1953. Johns's first solo exhibition was held at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, in January 1958. The success of this exhibition firmly established his career. He began to work with Sculp-metal in 1958 and to make cast-bronze sculptures in 1960; he also started to explore printmaking. His first retrospective was held in 1964 at the Jewish Museum, New York. He is often called a Neo-Dadaist, a Conceptualist, and a Minimalist. His techniques incorporated the sense of spontaneity of Abstract Expressionism, even though they were closely planned. His blend of ordinary objects and painterly style dissolved boundaries between fine art and mass culture.
• When did Jasper Johns live and work?+

  Jasper Johns was born on 15 May 1930 in Augusta, Georgia. He spent his childhood in South Carolina. Johns's early artistic education included studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, and later, Parsons School of Design in New York. His career was interrupted by military service in the United States Army from 1951 to 1952. After a period in Japan, he returned to New York, where he met Robert Rauschenberg in 1953. The two artists worked closely together until 1961. Johns achieved recognition in the late 1950s. His first solo exhibition took place at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York in January 1958. His work gained attention for its depictions of familiar motifs such as flags, targets, and maps. His work is often seen as a bridge between Abstract Expressionism, Pop art, and Minimalism. In 1972, Johns established a home and studio on Saint Martin. Later in life, Johns maintained residences and studios in New York, Saint Martin, and Connecticut.
• Where can I see Jasper Johns's work?+

  Jasper Johns's works appear in many prominent collections. In New York City, you can find his pieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. His art is also held in the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Outside of New York, several institutions house his works, such as the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Other locations include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Internationally, Johns's art can be seen at the Tate Gallery in London and the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, in Paris. These museums have all featured Johns's pieces in either temporary exhibitions or as part of their permanent collections.
• Where was Jasper Johns from?+

  Jasper Johns was born on 15 May 1930, in Augusta, Georgia. He spent his childhood in South Carolina. In the autumn of 1947, he enrolled at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, to study art. However, he left in December 1948. From January to June 1949, he attended the Parsons School of Design in New York. Johns was drafted into the United States Army, serving from May 1951 to late 1952 in South Carolina. There, he managed the Fort Jackson Gallery, where he exhibited artworks made by other soldiers. After a period of service in Japan, Johns returned to New York. His first solo exhibition occurred at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, in January 1958. This exhibition, featuring paintings of targets and American flags, cemented his career. Today, Johns lives and works in New York, Saint Martin, and Connecticut.
• Who did Jasper Johns influence?+

  Jasper Johns is considered a major figure in post-war American art. His work influenced the direction of American culture and the avant-garde. Johns's paintings and sculptures often depicted commonplace objects; American flags, targets, beer cans, and Coca-Cola bottles are some examples. His approach dissolved the boundaries between fine art and mass culture. Some critics call him a Neo-Dadaist, a Conceptualist, and a Minimalist. His techniques incorporated the sense of spontaneity of Abstract Expressionism, even though his works were closely planned. Johns's work, along with that of Robert Rauschenberg, is considered an important influence on American Pop Art. According to the critic Max Kozloff, Johns reduced flags and targets to abstract forms, which then ceased to function socially. This insight, he argued, gave momentum to Pop art. Johns's fusion of subject and object also had effects on art, especially American art, in the 1960s.