Gemini G.E.L.: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1966–2005
Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns has worked in a wide variety of media over the years, and prints play a central role in his oeuvre. However, apart from the Lead Reliefs series of 1969 (26.25–26.30), he has concentrated his efforts on lithography at Gemini. The lithographs made at the workshop incorporate a repertoire of images that Johns has examined and re-examined for nearly three decades. Examples include numerals such as 0 through 9 (26.91), letter forms such as Alphabets (26.23), body parts such as Casts from Untitled (26.59–26.75), and organizations of abstract markings such as Cicada (26.102). Many summon memories of earlier paintings. Among these works is Four Panels from Untitled 1972 (26.58.1–26.58.4).

Johns' sensitivity to the singular nature of lithographic surfaces may be seen in the delicate tonal washes of Gray Alphabets (26.11), as well as in the dense black crayon markings featured in Land's End (26.96). Moreover, Johns' refined use of the subtleties of handmade papers is keenly evident in several of his Gemini prints such as 0 through 9 (26.93), which was printed on gray paper. Johns discontinued his sustained collaboration at Gemini at the beginning of the 1980s. However, beautiful works such as Untitled (26.105) have been produced since then. These recent images reflect the arcane subject matter and subtle coloration that are central elements in his work.

Art and Technology | The 1960s | The 1970s | Robert Rauschenberg
Ellsworth Kelly | Jasper Johns | David Hockney | Sam Francis | Roy Lichtenstein
The 1980s | Jonathan Borofsky | Richard Serra | The 1990s | Elizabeth Murray
Into the Fourth Decade | Toward the Future