Matthew Marks plays it relatively safe over the next couple of months with a show of 40 Jasper Johns drawings, some of which have never seen the harsh light of the public eye.
Although not a Johns fan myself, it’s impossible not to acknowledge and respect him for his Picasso-esque ability to create and proliferate at a high level. In the Marks collection, Johns produces a retrospective-like look at his own work. He incorporates images of maps, numbers, cross-hatchings, and naturally, his famous flags, mostly with a stark black-and-white palate. Good choice; too much color would detract from the variety and execution of individual motifs.
I’m personally glad the Johns show didn’t take on war politics, which would have been easy given the nature of his work. Can’t you just imagine someone turning his signature American flag into a turban/burqa/AK47 sheath/(insert-your-stereotypical-Muslim-accessory-here), if only for some minimal effect? Then again, this isn’t Chris Ofili we’re talking about here.
Johns stays true to his methodical approach, tried and true themes, and exploration of different media. The first few drawings evoke machinistic depictions of a somewhat Surrealist nature; one shows rather colorful “fruits” of Cubist-like noses and eyes hanging from a branch. In the following room, Johns borrows from Juan Gris (literally spelling out “From Juan Gris” in the lower left-hand corner), plays with abstract cross-hatching, and moves through a slew of other art historical references. In the back of the gallery, two rooms separate his famous metallic number works from other more colorful, geometrical (though not entirely abstract) works. Diamond-patterned reds, yellows, greens, and blues randomly recall court jesters.
Matthew Marks put on an elegant show, but quite frankly, I just can’t make myself like Johns’ work no matter how hard I try. Granted, I guess I’m not trying to hard. That’s the thing about art: you either like it or you don’t. We all have our safe bets; for me, Johns isn’t it.
ArtChatter 