Went to the Art Institute to check out the Jasper Johns exhibit – Gray.

There is so much that you can do with just gray. I was wondering what was going to be there. Here are some of my favorite observations:

Covering Color: Johns was able to cover different colors with gray paint. Sometimes all that you could see were tints of color showing through, and other times you could see colors that weren’t covered over.

Covering Text: Some of the pieces were paint covering newspapers. I was so interested to see the bits of text.

Layers: Colors, Text, Lithographs, objects where all bases for some of the pieces. Covering something up brings so much to the works. Just like a clothed woman can excite people to see what is underneath, Johns was able to create excitement with both the outer layers and the hints of what was underneath.

Texture. Since the pallet was limited to shades of gray on many of the painting, it was up to the texture and brush stroke to create everything. I was drawn in to look close and enjoy every small detail.

Tones: Most pieces were only gray, but there were lots of variations. Johns used graphite, charcoal, paint, lithography, and objects to create his shades of gray. Sometime it was the color of the media that changed the color, and sometime it was the under layer that added hints of color. Most of the grays were cold blue grays. You would think that this would just be depressing, but there was whimsy in a lot of them.

Repetition: Lots of multiples. Flags, Circles, Alphabets, Numbers. I have always loved multiples. Showing the same objects over and over again, with some variation emphasizes both the sameness between them and also the differences. He also uses patterns, crosshatching, and shapes in irregular repeated patterns.

Fun Exhibit. I didn’t know much about Jasper Johns before I went, but I am interested in what else he has done.