Something Resembling Truth
The Jasper Johns Retrospective at The Broad
With a new year comes a new slew of exhibitions. One that we are looking forward to at PROVOKR is Jasper Johns: ‘Something Resembling Truth’ at The Broad. The show opens on February 10 in Los Angeles, and the iconic American artist will have over six decades of work on display.
As a pioneer of assemblage, appropriation, and Pop, Johns is arguably one of the most influential artists of the postwar era. Along with Robert Rauschenberg and several others, Johns bridged ‘40s and ‘50s Abstract Expressionism to the new wave of Pop in the 1960s. However, he has been producing an enormous amount since those early, heady days. With that in mind, a promising aspect of the exhibition is the style of curation, which will apparently deviate from the traditional chronological retrospective. In fact, The Broad mentions in its press release that there will be a “juxtaposition of early and late works throughout the exhibition.”
This show is curated by Edith Devaney, contemporary curator of the Royal Academy of Arts, London; and Dr. Roberta Bernstein, an authority on the work of Jasper Johns. As important as Johns has been to the landscape of American art, this will ironically be the only US venue for the exhibition. The Royal Academy originally hosted ‘Something Resembling Truth,’ and just like the first iteration, The Broad will include very rare and iconic works that rarely leave the confines of prestigious museums and private collections from around the globe. However, Eli and Edythe Broad possess many breathtaking Johns works themselves, which certainly gave them an advantage for hosting the show.
If you happen to be in Los Angeles between February and May, make sure to see this historically important and possibly unusual exhibition. If our endorsement doesn’t convince you, we have included some images of the work below.
Jasper Johns, “Untitled,” 1975. Oil and encaustic on canvas (four panels). 50 1/8 x 50 1/8 in. (127.32 x 127.32 cm). The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection. Art © Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Jasper Johns, “Flag,” 1967. Encaustic and collage on canvas (three panels). 33 1/2 x 56 1/4 in. (85.09 x 142.88 cm). The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection. Art © Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
