NEW ORLEANS, LA-Jasper Johns: Reversals showcases an exceptional group of prints by Jasper Johns, one of most influential artists of the twentieth century. Known for his representations of icons of American culture like flags, targets and maps, Johns is a master printmaker whose work in print influences all aspects of his art.
“NOMA is honored to present the works of American innovator, Jasper Johns, and is grateful to Donna Perret Rosen and Benjamin Rosen for sharing these works with NOMA and our visitors,” said Susan M. Taylor, Director of the New Orleans Museum of Art. “This exhibition not only brings attention to the complexity and intricacy of the process of printmaking, but also challenges viewers to look at traditional symbols of American culture with a critical eye.”
This exhibition brings together a choice selection of the artist’s mixed media works from the 1970s through today to show how the logic of printmaking—its multiple plates, mirror images, repetitions and reversals—informs Johns’ art across media, from painting and drawing to relief sculpture and collage. In prints like Flags I, 1973 and Savarin, 1977-81, Johns reimagined familiar media and forms, and reinvented and reinterpreted customary markers of American cultural identity.
In conjunction with the opening, the annual Donna Perret Rosen lecture will take place October 23 at 6:30 p.m. Scholars Carter Foster from the Whitney Museum of American Art and Kevin Salatino from The Huntington Library and Art Collection will discuss Johns and his works. The program is included with general admission.
“Jasper Johns’ explorations of the methods and materials of printmaking revolutionized 20th century art, and continue to inspire artists working today,” said Katie Pfohl, NOMA’s Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “NOMA is delighted to bring to New Orleans one of the first exhibitions of Johns’ work in the South, a region with special resonance for Johns’ art and life.”
Jasper Johns: Reversals will be on view in the Frederick R. Weisman Contemporary Galleries from October 23, 2015 – January 31, 2016.
About NOMA and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden
The New Orleans Museum of Art, founded in 1910 by Isaac Delgado, houses nearly 40,000 art objects encompassing 4,000 years of world art. Works from the permanent collection, along with continuously changing special exhibitions, are on view in the museum’s 46 galleries Fridays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The adjoining Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden features work by over 60 artists, including several of the 20th century’s master sculptors. The Sculpture Garden is open seven days a week: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The New Orleans Museum of Art and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden are fully accessible to handicapped visitors and wheelchairs are available from the front desk. For more information about NOMA, call (504) 658-4100 or visit www.noma.org. Wednesdays are free admission days for Louisiana residents, courtesy of The Helis Foundation. (May not include special exhibitions.) Teenagers (ages 13-19) receive free admission every day through the end of 2015, courtesy of The Helis Foundation.
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