JASPER JOHN’S RETROSPECTIVE COMING TO PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK CITY
New York City and Philadelphia hosted a press conference in London this week to share news on how they are planning to collectively work together in their iconic arts and cultural scenes for 2020.
Most excitingly, they announced an unprecedented Jasper Johns “Mirror/Mind” retrospective which is going to be held simultaneously in Philadelphia and New York City, featuring paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, many seen for the first time. It will showcase the complexity and originality of Johns’ body of work on a new scale and in unprecedented depth. Philadelphia will be hosting the exhibition in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, currently having some new spaces designed by Frank Gehry and in NYC it will be at The Whitney, their premier institution of modern and contemporary art in the USA. It will open on October 25rh 2020 until February 21st 2021.
Jasper Johns is arguably the most influential living artist, still going strong at 90! Over the past 65 years he has produced a radical and varied body of work marked by constant reinvention. He basically changed the course of art history, working on every day life – flags, maps, targets, numbers that became known as Pop art during the mid to late 1950’s. The other significant early artists that shaped the pop art movement with him were Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton in Britain and Larry Rivers and Richard Hamilton in Britain.
Inspired by the artist’s long-standing fascination with mirroring and doubles, the two halves of the exhibition will act as reflections of one another. A visit to one museum or the other will provide a vivid chronological survey; but even better, a visit to both will offer a more immersive exploration of the many facets of John’s career as well as a half-price admission.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The celebrations will not only reflect on the history of the museum but also look to its future. This includes the reimagination of the British Galleries which was unveiled on 2 March. The suite of 10 galleries focuses on British decorative arts, design and sculpture from 1500 – 1900, providing a new perspective on this period, exploring its bold, entrepreneurial spirit and complex history.
All photos by Phil Gammon
NYC & Co and Philadelphia road trip team
NYC & Co with the UK team
Fred Dixon, President & CEO, NYC & Co
Scott Rothkopf, Senior Deputy Director at The Whitney Museum of American Art
Fred Dixon, President & CEO NYC & Co with Julie Coker, CEO and President of Philadelphia Conventions & Visitors Bureau
