Special Exhibition
Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth'
Feb 10 - May 13, 2018

Overview

“One hopes for something resembling truth, some sense of life, even of grace, to flicker, at least, in the work”
Jasper Johns, 2006

A landmark exhibition, Jasper Johns: ‘Something Resembling Truth’ features more than 120 extraordinary paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings by one of America's greatest artists. Featuring signature works from the Broad collection with loans from more than 50 international public and private collections, The Broad's presentation marks the first comprehensive survey of Jasper Johns in Southern California in more than 50 years. A collaboration with the Royal Academy in London, Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth' traces the evolution of the artist’s six-decade career through a series of thematic chapters, encompassing the full range of Johns’ materials, motifs and techniques.

Tickets are available now! Or, join us for FREE Thursdays May 3 and 10 from 4-7 p.m. when The Broad is offering free admission to Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth'. During these events, free tickets for the special exhibition will be issued starting at 3:45 p.m.

"Not to be missed ... a blissful show"
 Los Angeles Times

"Jasper Johns, now 87, is widely regarded as America’s foremost living artist"
 The New York Times

"A wonderful show about an artist who is a genius at what he does"
 The Wall Street Journal 

Johns has been seminal to the Broad collection, and his work emerged with and has influenced numerous other collection artists represented in depth, including Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Bruce Nauman, Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari and Sherrie Levine, among countless others.

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Organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with The Broad, Los Angeles. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Image: Jasper Johns, Watchman, 1964. Oil on canvas with objects (two panels). The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection. Art © Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
 

know before you go

Tickets to Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth' are available now and include general admission access to the museum. Adults are $25, and children and students 17 and under are free. All tickets are available for reservation online. 

Tickets are timed every 30 minutes, with the last entry 1 hour before the museum closes. Please refer to our visit and ticketing FAQ for more information about timed tickets. 

Advance reservations are not required to visit the exhibition. An onsite standby line is available every day the museum is open, and the wait for special exhibition tickets is generally much shorter than for general admission. 

First Thursdays | Mar. 1, Apr. 5 and May 3 | 4-7 p.m. 
The Broad is pleased to offer free admission to Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth' on the first Thursday of every month during the exhibition's run. During these events, free tickets for the special exhibition will be issued starting at 3:45 p.m.


Who is Jasper Johns?

Jasper Johns was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1930 and raised in South Carolina. He moved to New York in 1948 and returned in 1953 after two years of service in the U.S. Army. Johns’ works became widely known after his first solo exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery in 1958. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with an array of other artists, including visual artists Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, playwright Samuel Beckett and choreographer Merce Cunningham, serving as artistic advisor to the Merce Cunningham Dance Company for over a decade. The artist currently lives and works in Sharon, Conn.

Johns has held solo exhibitions throughout the world at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Kunstmuseum Basel; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Johns won the Grand Prize for Painting at the Venice Biennale in 1988, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. 

Jasper Johns in his Riverside Drive studio, New York, 1964. Photograph by Bob Adelman.


Audio Tour

Learn more about this landmark exhibition from the curators themselves! Explore the exhibition in depth through video, images, scholarly voices and poetry readings. 

Bring your headphones and enjoy a free audio tour of the exhibition on The Broad's mobile app. If you prefer, you can rent a device to use during your visit.


Highlighted Artwork

Jasper Johns
1967
encaustic and collage on canvas (three panels)
33 1/2 x 56 1/4 in. (85.09 x 142.88 cm)
Jasper Johns
1975
oil and encaustic on canvas (four panels)
50 1/8 x 50 1/8 in. (127.32 x 127.32 cm)
Jasper Johns
1992-94
encaustic on canvas
78 1/2 x 118 3/8 in. (199.39 x 300.67 cm)
Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth'
Target
Jasper Johns
1961
Encaustic and collage on canvas
167.6 x 167.6 cm
Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth'
Fool's House
Jasper Johns
1961-62
Oil on canvas with broom, sculptural towel, stretcher and cup
182.9 x 92.5 x 11.4 cm
Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth'
Watchman
Jasper Johns
1964
Oil on canvas with objects (two panels)
85 x 60 1/4 in.
Jasper Johns: 'Something Resembling Truth'
Summer
Jasper Johns
1985
Encaustic on canvas
190.5 x 127 cm

Installation Images

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