Whitney Museum of American Art and Philadelphia Museum of Art show Jasper Johns: Mind / Mirror

The inventive and groundbreaking work of the versatile US artist Jasper Johns (*1930) has influenced the art world then and now. In a comprehensive retrospective to be shown simultaneously at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, interested visitors can view Jasper Johns: Mind / Mirror from 29 September 2021 until 13 February 2022. The exhibition will show an impressive selection of famous paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints as well as lesser-known and more recent works from Johns' career, which has already lasted seven decades. Many of the almost 500 exhibits come from Johns' personal collection and are being presented to the public for the first time. Inspired by the artist's fascination with reflections and doubles, each of the self-contained exhibitions is intended to present the mirror image of the others. In this way, viewers are encouraged to look closely to discover the themes, methods and coded visual language that are evident in both houses and provide an insight into the working process of this outstanding artist.

Few artists have shaped the contemporary art landscape as much as Jasper Johns. Beginning in his early 20s, he created a radical and diverse body of work characterised by constant reinvention. Between 1954 and 55, for example, he created his now-canonical Flag (1954-55), which radically challenged the dominance of Abstract Expressionism, and has consistently raised paradoxes and explored new approaches to abstraction and figuration in his work. His seventy-year body of work includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, books, and set and costume design, and has opened up new perspectives for several generations of younger artists.