Jasper Johns: Gray (Art Institute of Chicago) [Hardcover]

Douglas W. Druick (Author), James Rondeau (Author), Mark Pascale (Contributor), Richard Shiff (Contributor), Ms. Barbara Rose (Contributor), Kelly Keegan (Contributor), Kristin Lister (Contributor), Nan Rosenthal (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Art Institute of Chicago | Publication Date: November 28, 2007

Jasper Johns (b. 1930), one of today's most acclaimed and influential artists, is rarely considered in relation to monochromatic art. Yet single-colour experimentations have figured prominently in his productions since 1955, and within that significant subset of his work, the majority of monochromes are grey. In fact, every one of his iconic, serialized forms has been articulated in grey. This elegant book, spanning Johns' full career, examines this singular preoccupation, presenting a revolutionary new understanding of and appreciation for the artist as an accomplished tonalist. Johns' greys traverse an infinitely expressive spectrum of differentiated hues and values evident in the new photography expressly commissioned for this catalogue. The volume features paintings, sculptures, drawings, lithographs, silkscreens, etchings, and aquatints created in a wide array of grey media: oil and acrylic paint, encaustic, collage, Sculp-metal, aluminum, lead, silver, graphite, pastel, watercolour, and ink. This book also features recent works published here for the first time. Anchoring this essential publication are compelling essays that enrich our perspective on this prolific artist's entire oeuvre.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Rondeau is Frances and Thomas Dittmer Chair, Department of Contemporary Art, The Art Institute of Chicago. Douglas Druick is Prince Trust Chair, Department of Prints and Drawings, and Searle Chair, Department of Medieval through Modern European Painting and Sculpture, The Art Institute of Chicago. Mark Pascale is associate curator of prints and drawings, The Art Institute of Chicago. Richard Shiff is professor in the Department of Art and Art History, The University of Texas at Austin. Kristin Lister is conservator of painting and Kelly Keegan is assistant conservator of paintings, both at the Art Institute of Chicago. Barbara Rose is an independent scholar and a well-known critic of post-war American art. Nan Rosenthal is senior consultant, Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Art Institute of Chicago; 1ST edition (November 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300119496
• ISBN-13: 978-0300119497
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 10 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frans Hals had black; Jasper Johns has gray., May 9, 2008

By 

Claude Reich (Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jasper Johns: Gray (Art Institute of Chicago) (Hardcover)

I hesitated before ordering this book. I already own 5 books about Jasper Johns and was thinking to myself that owning one more would not add much to my appreciation of this great artist. I was wrong. This book, the catalogue for an exhibition held at the Chicago Art Institute in 2007, is full of marvelous illustrations (of some recent works like the Catenary series) and brilliant essays on the importance of this most difficult of colors, gray, in the work of Johns. The quality of the illustrations is such that they enable the reader to see all the nuances of the artist's palette as if we were standing in front of the paintings (or drawings, or prints, as a matter of fact). In this respect, all the photographs were taken by the same photographer using one type of material only so as to show the works in the same light and shade. Johns's gray is like Hals's black: he has hundreds of different grays and the book reveals this perfectly.

Highly recommended.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A muct have for contemporary artists, February 23, 2008

By 

Maureen Eustace "Maureen" (canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jasper Johns: Gray (Art Institute of Chicago) (Hardcover)

I have found this book most helpful. The articles written by the various contributors is worth the price alone. The illustrations are satisfactory as most of these works are about texture.This book will be a friend for a long time.