Jasper Johns: “Something Resembling Truth”

Fascinating exhibition at Royal Academy looking at the work of Jasper Johns.

The commentary to the exhibition was excellent and brought out the depth in these works which can feel one dimensional on an initially viewing and by the nature of the repetition of themes. It emphasised the main aim of making you look at ordinary things and find a deeper meaning hence the use of “things the mind already knows” such as flags and targets.

Seeing the works together and looking them as objects rather than just images you saw the differences between each work. I’d not realised that many of the flag pictures are wax over collage. I liked three panels split open to show the wall behind to make you think about the space around you and the oddness of looking at an image hanging on a wall.

I loved the section on the studio and in particular the bronze sculptures of objects from the studio such as paint brushes in a branded tin. That same pot was then shown in a picture so was it the original or the bronze, should it be taken as a self-portrait? I also loved the humour in his bronzes of beer cans which fed into the idea that his agent was known as someone who could sell anything.

It was nice to see some of the recent works based on a photograph of Lucien Freud again which had a detailed display at the Courtauld a couple of years ago.

Closed on 10 December 2017.

Reviews
Times
Guardian
Telegraph
Evening Standard

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Becket: Murder and Making of a Saint

Image
Stunning exhibition at the British Museum on the life and afterlife of Thomas Becket. I studied Becket both at A Level and at university so I was really looking forward to this show and it did not disappoint. From walking in to see an old friend, the early Limoges casket showing the murder from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I was gripped. The show told the story well using fantastic objects and led you through his life, the murder, the political aftermath, his sainthood and miracles, and how Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site. It is hard to pick out the best objects as so many were wonderful. I loved that they had early copies of some of the five eyewitness accounts of the murder which made you fell you were almost touching the event. I liked the manuscript on his time in exile which was almost like a comic strip. How wonderful to get a 13th century font from Sweden which shows how far and how quickly the news that Henry II had integrated the murder spread. I think my...
Read more

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Exhibition 2019

Image
Delightful exhibition at Clarendon Fine Art showing pictures from the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year TV series. I had loved the series which had set nine artists, both professional and amateur, to paint one of three celebrities. It then had a semi-final and final with them all looking at one sitter and in the final they also took on a commission. I loved the way you watched a picture build and how some were then made or spoiled by one stroke of paint.   Finding these pictures I knew so well in the flesh was therefore fascinating. None of them disappointed. My favourite artist from the final, Tom Mead, works looked just as good in real life if not better as you could see the detail. The show included his impressive self-portrait which he submitted to enter the competition, a wonderful fragmented picture of his reflection in a mirror giving a sense of movement. I loved that it included a large version of him and a miniature. His commission for the final of Jazzie B...
Read more

The Renaissance Nude

Image
Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the nude in Renaissance art. The show was gently themed but mainly let the pictures speak for themselves. It began by looking at the subjects, both religious and secular, which include nude figures then examined techniques and models used in these works, finishing by looking at more personal pictures. This is a period I’ve studied a lot so there were a lot of old friends and it was quite fun predicting what might appear. There were a few surprises too such as the rather surprising drawing of the Ecstatic Christ. I liked the fact the show included lots of different art forms not just paintings including sculpture, etchings, drawings and illuminated manuscripts. There were some fascinating hangs to draw comparisons particularly two sets of pictures by Giovanni Bellini and Hand Memling from almost exactly the same date. These were shown back to back in a display cabinet down the middle of one room. My favourite work was ...
Read more