Collages - Ray Johnson Estate

Detail: Ray Johnson, January/February, 1966, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 30 x 30 inches, Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts

"Johnson endlessly rearranges and resurfaces his bits of painted cardboard until they fall into a tight mosaic with uniform patina. In the best of his new collages, each cardboard fragment (about the size of a commemorative stamp) has been painted, rubbed and sanded until it appears unspeakably worn and lustrous, like a chip of antique glass, a flaky medieval illumination, an Italian candy wrapper, a rained-on sand painting, or the sunbaked output of a diarrhoetic pigeon."

- David Bourdon, 1966

Richard Feigen was an early champion of his work, holding one-man exhibitions in New York and Chicago from 1966-72, including I Shot an Arrow into the Air It Fell to Earth in the Ear of an Artist Living in Flushing, New York, A Lot of Shirley Temple Postcards and Dollar Bills. From 1968-1974, Johnson produced an ambitious body of work, received critical attention on the pages of Artforum, and was featured in several major exhibitions. In 1970, The Whitney Museum of American Art organized Ray Johnson: New York Correspondance School, which served as a major form of cultural validation for Johnson’s practice. Additionally, Johnson had several solo shows at Willard Gallery (New York) as well as Famous People’s Mother’s Potato Mashers (1973) at Galleria Schwarz (Milan) and Ray Johnson’s History of the Betty Parsons Gallery (1973) at the Betty Parsons Gallery (New York), and participated in the group exhibition Post Card Show (1971-72) at the Angela Flowers Gallery (London).

Slideshow Thumbnails

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;January/February,&nbsp;1966, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 30 x 30 inches, Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts

Ray Johnson, January/February, 1966, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 30 x 30 inches, Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Bridget Riley&#39;s Comb,&nbsp;1966, Mixed media collage on board,&nbsp;25 x 13 1/2&nbsp;in., Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Ray Johnson, Bridget Riley's Comb, 1966, Mixed media collage on board, 25 x 13 1/2 in., Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Wanda Gag,&nbsp;1967, Mixed media collage on board,&nbsp;13 1/2 x 16 7/8 in., Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Wanda Gag, 1967, Mixed media collage on board, 13 1/2 x 16 7/8 in., Private Collection

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Pig,&nbsp;1968, Mixed media collage on board, 18 x 14 inches, 10122, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Pig, 1968, Mixed media collage on board, 18 x 14 inches, 10122, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, I Love You Alice B. Toklas, 1969, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 27.5 x 17.5 (69.9 x 44.5), 10100, Private Collection

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Jelly Dimple,&nbsp;1969, Mixed media collage on board, 20 1/2 x 17 in., 10011

Ray Johnson, Jelly Dimple, 1969, Mixed media collage on board, 20 1/2 x 17 in., 10011

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Today,&nbsp;1969, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 24 3/4 x 20 in., 10038

Ray Johnson, Today, 1969, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 24 3/4 x 20 in., 10038

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Feeting Poster,&nbsp;1969, Mixed media collage on board, 24 3/4 x 20 1/2 inches, 10092

Ray Johnson, Feeting Poster, 1969, Mixed media collage on board, 24 3/4 x 20 1/2 inches, 10092

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Marilyn Monroe Dollar Bill,&nbsp;1970, Mixed media collage on board, 29 3/4 x 20 3/4 in., 20766, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Marilyn Monroe Dollar Bill, 1970, Mixed media collage on board, 29 3/4 x 20 3/4 in., 20766, Private Collection

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Joe Buck Dollar Bill,&nbsp;1970, Mixed media collage on board, 30 1/2 x 21 1/2 in., 10077, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Joe Buck Dollar Bill, 1970, Mixed media collage on board, 30 1/2 x 21 1/2 in., 10077, Private Collection

Rya Johnson,&nbsp;Robert Rauschenberg,&nbsp;1972, Mixed media collage on board, 20 1/4 x 15 1/4 in., Private Collection

Rya Johnson, Robert Rauschenberg, 1972, Mixed media collage on board, 20 1/4 x 15 1/4 in., Private Collection

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Ruth Szowie,&nbsp;1972, Mixed media collage on board,&nbsp;20 1/2 x 15 1/2 in., Collection of&nbsp;Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution

Ray Johnson, Ruth Szowie, 1972, Mixed media collage on board, 20 1/2 x 15 1/2 in., Collection of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (Frank O&#39;Hara),&nbsp;1973, Mixed media collage on board, 21 x 16 in., 10526, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Frank O'Hara), 1973, Mixed media collage on board, 21 x 16 in., 10526, Private Collection

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Marcel Duchamp&#39;s Mother&#39;s Potato Masher,&nbsp;1973, Mixed media collage on board, 20 3/8 &times; 15 3/8 in. (51.75 &times; 39.05 cm), Collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Ray Johnson, Marcel Duchamp's Mother's Potato Masher, 1973, Mixed media collage on board, 20 3/8 × 15 3/8 in. (51.75 × 39.05 cm), Collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Picasso Queen,&nbsp;1973, Mixed media collage on board, 28 1/2 x 19 in., Collection of the Museum Frieder Burda

Ray Johnson, Picasso Queen, 1973, Mixed media collage on board, 28 1/2 x 19 in., Collection of the Museum Frieder Burda

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Cupid with Picasso&rsquo;s &ldquo;Women at the Spring&rdquo;), 1974, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 20 x 15 (50.8 x 38.1), 10714, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Cupid with Picasso’s “Women at the Spring”), 1974, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 20 x 15 (50.8 x 38.1), 10714, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Her Royal Highness Princess Christina of Sweden), 1975, Mixed media collage on masonite, 31.5 x 16.125 (80 x 41), 10161

Ray Johnson, David Bowie with Snake, 1977, Mixed media collage on masonite, 23.125 x 8.875 (58.7 x 22.5), 10194, Private Collection