When the subject of “best living artist in the world” comes up, the one artist always on everyone’s list is Jasper Johns. And with good reason. The eighty-one year old legend is one of the most influential figures in art, almost single-handedly moving it away from Abstract Expressionism and laying the foundation for Pop and Minimalism. His Flag paintings are as visible a part of American culture as the hot rod or baseball.
One of Johns’ best known series is his numbers works. Using the numbers zero through nine, the artist has revisited the classic grid with an exhibition of relief sculptures at Matthew Marks. A perfect example of his obsession with creating something, refining it, and doing something else to it, Johns has produced these pieces in bronze, aluminum, and silver, each with a unique patina. They are on their own pedestal display, allowing us to view both front and back. The exhibition also includes twenty recent works on paper.
See more of the show after the jump…
