“Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it.”
—Jasper JohnsMounted in 1966 at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, the exhibition Recent Still Life, Painting and Sculpture brought together artists such as Grace Hartigan, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Richard Diebenkorn, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Giorgio Morandi and many others. Amongst a group of artists now considered to be heavyweights of 20th century art, the museum chose Jasper Johns as the artist to be featured on their promotional poster. Utilizing Johns’ signature stencil-like font, the lithograph Recent Still Life marks the first time that Johns used his light bulb motif in his printmaking – an object that the artist would repeatedly incorporate into his multi-disciplinary practice. In Johns’ work, the light bulb transcends its commonplace connotations to become a witty commentary on the process of making art, a symbol of the necessary conditions for artistic creation and viewing – without light, what can we see? Continuing his reworking of light bulb iconography, Johns reimagined the same composition of Recent Still Life in 1969, this time translating the painterly black wash of the background into a solid lead relief.
Jasper Johns, Light Bulb from Lead Reliefs, 1969. Artwork: © 2024 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY Literature
Universal Limited Art Editions 22
Artist Biography
Jasper Johns
American • 1930
Jasper Johns is a painter and printmaker who holds a foundational place in twentieth century art history. Quoting the evocative gestural brushstroke of the Abstract Expressionists, Johns represented common objects such as flags, targets, masks, maps and numbers: He sought to explore things "seen and not looked at, not examined" in pictorial form. Drawing from common commercial and 'readymade' objects, such as newspaper clippings, Ballantine Ale and Savarin Coffee cans, Johns was a bridge to Pop, Dada and Conceptual art movements.
Beyond the historical significance, each work by Johns is individually considered in sensuous form. A curiosity of medium led him to employ a range of materials from encaustic and commercial house paint to lithography, intaglio and lead relief.
127
Recent Still Life (U.L.A.E. 22)
1966
Lithograph, on Italia paper, with full margins.
I. 33 1/2 x 19 in. (85.1 x 48.3 cm)
S. 40 x 27 3/4 in. (101.6 x 70.5 cm)
Signed, dated '65' and numbered 'Artist's Proof 6/15' in pencil (the edition was 100 with smaller margins), published by Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, New York (with their blindstamp), framed.
Estimate
$2,000 - 3,000
Sold for $1,905
editions@phillips.com
212-940-1220
Editions & Works on Paper
New York Auction 27 June 2024
