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John Paul Jones Retrospective

DATES June 04, 1963 through August 10, 1963
ORGANIZING DEPARTMENT American Art
COLLECTIONS American Art
  • March 9, 1963 The first retrospective exhibition of the prints and drawings of John Paul Jones will open at The Brooklyn Museum on June 4 and continue through August 11, 1963. The exhibition will mark the publication of John Paul Jones, the first in a series of monographs on contemporary artists issued by the Museum under the supervision of Una E. Johnson, Curator of the Department of Prints and Drawings. This series is made possible by a grant from the Ford Foundation Program in Humanities and the Arts.

    John Paul Jones was born in Iowa in 1924, and is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he studied printmaking with Mauricio Lasansky. He has been an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of California since 1953 and has exhibited in major shows on the West Coast. The exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum, which will include 71 prints dating from the beginning of his career to the present (1948-1963), a selection of drawings and several recent small bronzes, will be his first one-man show on the eastern seaboard.

    A draughtsman and printer of exceptional ability, Jones’ early work varies from figure studies to abstract themes during which period he experimented with the disciplines and intricacies of the graphic medium. His more recent work is characterized by the fusion of abstract and figurative elements in which he explores the world of symbol and fantasy.

    In speaking of the artist, Miss Johnson comments that “John Paul Jones has been dedicated to the old and elemental visual language of drawing throughout his career. The delineation of forms has become a basic discipline in all his creative work. Through his own intuitive yet exacting shorthand, he crystalizes his ideas and reflections and gives them a very personal imagery and a rare measure of compassion.”

    On Monday, June 3 from 9 to 11 p.m., there will be an invitational preview for the press, Museum members and their guests.

    Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1953 - 1970. 1963, 007.
    View Original
  • June 2, 1963 The first retrospective exhibition of the prints and drawings of John Paul Jones will open at The Brooklyn Museum on June 4 and continue through August 11, 1963. The exhibition will mark the publication of John Paul Jones, the first in a series of monographs issued by the Museum under the supervision of Una E. Johnson, Curator of the Department of Prints and Drawings. This series is made possible by a grant from the Ford Foundation Program in Humanities and the Arts.

    John Paul Jones was born in Iowa in 1924, and is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he studied printmaking with Mauricio Lasansky. He has been an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of California since 1953 and has exhibited in major shows throughout the country. The exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum, which will include 71 prints dating from 1948 to the present, a selection of drawings and several recent small bronzes, will be his first one-man show on the eastern seaboard.

    A draughtsman and printer of exceptional ability, Jones' early work varies from figure studies to abstract themes during which period he experimented with the disciplines and intricacies of the graphic medium. His prints at this point reflect an understanding of the structural strength of Jacques Villon's cubist engravings and the luminosity and mystery of Odilon Redon’s black and white fantasies. His more recent work is characterized by the fusion of abstract and figurative elements in which he explores the world of symbol and fantasy.

    Since 1948, Jones has issued eighty-two prints, mostly in the intaglio method, which, in his work, includes etching, engraving, aquatint and a deft use of soft ground to obtain special textures. Such is his emphasis on quality that he may work over his large plates for periods of five, eight or even fifteen months.

    In speaking of the artist, Miss Johnson comments that “John Paul Jones has been dedicated to the old and elemental visual language of drawing throughout his career. The delineation of forms has become a basic discipline in all of his creative work. Through his own intuitive yet exacting shorthand, he crystallizes his ideas and reflections and gives them a very personal imagery and a rare measure of compassion.

    “The questionable idea that a work of modern art must say something new, and say it more loudly or cleverly besets not only the present-day public, but the individual artist as well. Happily, there are those who remain independent or uncorrupted by similar demons of progress. Such an artist is John Paul Jones.”

    On Monday evening, June 3, from 9 to 11 p.m., there will be an invitational preview for the press, Museum members and their guests.

    Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1953 - 1970. 1963, 025-026
    View Original