“I’m interested in things which suggest the world rather than reproduce it, and I’ve always wanted to make things which are difficult to describe.”
—Jasper JohnsAle Cans is a clear example of Jasper Johns’ interest in quotidian imagery. Throughout Johns’ career, he has been drawn to representing “things the mind already knows” such as the American flag, stenciled numbers, and even ale cans. Like many post-war artists, Johns was highly influenced by Marcel Duchamp and the readymade - an ordinary, manufactured object that the artist removes from its functional role and declares it art. Johns took the Duchampian philosophy of the readymade one step further by scrupulously creating his own sculptural replica, Painted Bronze, of the mundane beer can. This hand-painted bronze, completed in 1960, represents two cans of Ballantine Ale, and was allegedly inspired by artist Willem de Kooning’s sarcastic remark that the legendary art dealer, Leo Castelli, was so adept at sales that he could sell two cans of beer.
The reproducible nature of printmaking allowed for Johns to experiment, duplicate, and play within the recognizable imagery of his own visual vocabulary. In 1964, despite being just four years into his printmaking journey, Johns had already established himself as an avid printmaker. It is of note that in this same year, the artist only published one edition, his first graphic representation of the Ale Cans motif. The 1964 Ale Cans is characterized by its vivid color and heightened realism, posing the problems of reality and illusion. Is the print a representation of two ale cans or Johns’ Painted Bronze? Johns shifts the conversation away from his own technical skill and the beauty of line and color, to instead prioritize the spectator’s uncertainty regarding the nature of representation.
Jasper Johns, Ale Cans,1964. Artwork: © 2024 Jasper Johns and ULAE / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Published by Universal Limited Art Editions More then ten years later Johns revisited the subject in his 1975 lithograph, also titled Ale Cans, further playing with the dichotomies of reality and illusion through a slightly more abstract, abbreviated reference to the ale can. The concrete, palpable memory of both the physical ale can and Johns’ ale can imagery is transformed into an intangible, ephemeral recollection. The ale cans of Johns earlier work shift from being easily visualized and understood to a more elusive, conceptual understanding of a memory. The present Ale Cans lithograph from 1975 becomes an interpretation of an idea, enhancing and adding depth to Johns’ quintessential motif.
Literature
Gemini G.E.L. 614
Universal Limited Art Editions 154Artist 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.
357
Ale Cans (G. 614, U.L.A.E. 154)
1975
Lithograph, on Richard de Bas Narcisse paper, with full margins.
I. 12 1/2 x 18 1/4 in. (31.8 x 46.4 cm)
S. 16 3/8 x 21 in. (41.6 x 53.3 cm)
Signed, dated and numbered 20/22 in pencil (there were also 7 artist's proofs), published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles (with their blindstamps, and inkstamp on the reverse), unframed.
Estimate
$3,000 - 5,000
Sold for $6,985
Editions & Works on Paper
New York Auction 22 - 24 October 2024
149
This lot is no longer available.
344
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376
This lot is no longer available.
