Jasper
Johns Prints covers 40 years of printmaking from one of
America's most revered artists. All the works in this
exhibition are from the John and Maxine Belger Family
Foundation collection, which is housed at the Belger Arts
Center. These prints, collected over a span of 40 years,
have been shown throughout the United States in recent
years. We are happy to be able to mount this exhibition
in Kansas City, Missouri in conjunction with the Southern
Graphics Council's conference.
| 
Jasper
Johns, Untitled, 1991
Intaglio from Copper Plates, on Paper
41-1/2 x 78"; Edition of Two
Published by Universal Limited Art Editions |
In
1954, 24-year-old Jasper Johns destroyed all his artwork
still in his possession and made a crucial decision: “Before,
whenever anybody asked me what I did, I said I was going
to become an artist. Finally, I decided to stop becoming
an artist and to be an artist.” From his studio
in New York City Johns set about creating a body of work
that used familiar imagery: flags, targets, numerals.
This imagery flew in the face of the Abstract Expressionist
movement that was ruling the New York art world at the
time. Johns took his images and worked and reworked them,
pushing his ideas. Three years of intensive studio work
led to his first solo exhibit, at the Leo Castelli Gallery.
The show of paintings and sculpture was a sensation, with
the Museum of Modern Art taking three pieces. By 1959
Time magazine was calling Johns “the brand-new darling
of the art world's bright, brittle avant-garde.”
In 1960 Tatyana Grosman of Universal Limited
Art Editions (ULAE) invited Johns to work at her studio
in Long Island. Johns met with Grosman and she sent two
lithograph stones to his studio in the city. Johns ignored
his friend Robert Rauschenberg who advised him the mid-twentieth
century was not the best time for an artist to be writing
on rocks. The first print to be published was “Target”
(1960). The other stone was used to produce the series
“0-9” (1960-63). By the end of the 1960’s
Johns had produced more than 120 prints and was regarded
as a master of printmaking. Rauschenberg also eventually
found his way into the printmaking world with much success.
Master Printer Bill Goldston of ULAE dedicated
himself to advancing techical expertise in print. He made
it possible to make printed images in new ways, methods
that merged seamlessly with Johns’ experimentation.
Through collaborations with Goldston and others, Johns’
work advanced the whole process of printmaking.
In addition to the earliest prints, among
the highlights of Jasper Johns Prints is the inclusion
of six lead relief prints from 1969-70. Due to the delicate
surface, these works are only exhibited at the Belger
Arts Center.
At times Johns has done prints based on
paintings and other times the print has come first. He
has never stopped experimenting with ideas and has never
been bothered by the critical tides that have favored
or not favored him. In 2006 the art world was reminded
again of Johns’ stature when his 1959 painting “False
Start” sold for 80 million dollars, an astonishing
amount for the work of a living artist.
Jasper
Johns Prints includes nearly 70 titles which represent
more than 90 works on paper (some suites of multiple prints
are displayed under one title). In addition to Jasper
Johns the Belger Family Foundation collection also features
extensive holdings of artwork by Renée Stout, William
Christenberry, Terry Winters, Terry Allen, Robert Stackhouse,
and William T. Wiley. Artwork from the collection is available
for loan to museums, universities, and art centers.
