Signs Under Pressure
Jasper Johns Lithographs
November 6, 2026–May 16, 2027- Location
- Gallery 250
- Admission
- Free
In 1954, Jasper Johns painted an American flag that he had seen in a dream. Maps, targets, and numbers soon followed. These familiar signs became images he returned to again and again, testing how they changed across different materials and forms. When Johns began making prints in 1960, lithography gave him new ways to transform these motifs through transfer, ink, and pressure.
This exhibition presents a selection of Johns’s lithographs from the 1960s and 1970s, the period in which he first began working seriously in print. The works feature some of his best-known subjects and compositional devices, including layering, reversal, and mirroring. Through these transformations, everyday signs become harder to pin down, charged by the process that made them.
Signs Under Pressure: Jasper Johns Lithographs is curated by Clare Kobasa, associate curator of prints, drawings, and photographs; and Melissa Venator, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Modern Art.
Jasper Johns, American, born 1930; printed by Bill Goldston, American, active 20th century; and James V. Smith, American, active late 20th century; published by Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, New York, founded 1957; Corpse and Mirror, 1976; color lithograph, printed from 12 aluminum plates; 30 3/4 x 39 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Eliza McMillan Trust 298:1980; © 2026 Jasper Johns and ULAE / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Published by Universal Limited Art Editions
Jasper Johns, American, born 1930; printed by Steven M. Andersen, American, active 20th century; and William Goldston, American, active 20th century; and Zigmunds Priede, American (born Latvia), born 1935; and James V. Smith, American, active late 20th century; published by Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, New York, founded 1957; Decoy, 1971; color lithograph with die cut, printed from 18 aluminum plates and one stone; sheet: 41 3/8 x 29 5/8 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Fisher 249:1977; © 2026 Jasper Johns and ULAE / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Published by Universal Limited Art Editions