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Janique Vigier for the New York Review
Janique Vigier for the New York Review
His Dreaminess Had Will September 26, 2022

In the last three years of his life, the elusive New York artist Ray Johnson picked up what he called a “new career as a photographer.” His late pictures were a final message, prank, secret, or gift.

Martha Schwendener for the New York Times
Martha Schwendener for the New York Times
August 24, 2022

CRITIC’S PICK: Ray Johnson’s Camera Was Disposable. The Photos Are Unforgettable.

The Pop artist spent his final years taking pictures and kept them a secret. Dozens are on view in a revelatory show at the Morgan Library & Museum.

Mark Bloch for the Brooklyn Rail
Mark Bloch for the Brooklyn Rail
July 13, 2022

PLEASE SEND TO REAL LIFE: Ray Johnson Photographs

The collagist Ray Johnson flippantly referred to his “new career as a photographer,” having not pursued the genre before, spending decades masterfully cutting up flat images—some taken by others of him, others of pop culture effigies he surgically extracted. 

Jean Dykstra for the Brooklyn Rail
Jean Dykstra for the Brooklyn Rail
July 13, 2022

"... in the last three years of his life, unbeknownst to most of his friends, he became a photographer."

Amanda Fortini for T Magazine
Amanda Fortini for T Magazine
July 7, 2022

Why Are We Still Talking About Black Mountain College?
In 1933, a handful of renegade teachers opened a school in rural North Carolina that would go on to shape American art and art education for decades to come.

Ariella Budick for the Financial Times
Ariella Budick for the Financial Times
June 28, 2022

Ray Johnson, Morgan Library review — banal, poetic, astonishing photographs by a man of mystery.
Three thousand pictures, discovered long after his death, shed light on the artist’s intriguing strangeness...

Irina Munteanu for Glamour Romania
Irina Munteanu for Glamour Romania
June 26, 2022

In the last years of his life, Ray Johnson gave up the collages he had made until then, a term that he seemed to dislike somehow and which he had replaced with "moticos", an anagram for "osmotic", just as difficult. to decipher like him. So he returned more resolutely to photography. Between '92 and '94 he used 137 disposable cameras with which he created the collection of works that only this day sees the light of day.

Ray Johnson’s Previously Unseen Photography in Hyperallergic
Ray Johnson’s Previously Unseen Photography in Hyperallergic
June 21, 2022

Ray Johnson’s Previously Unseen Photography Comes to the Morgan Library & Museum
PLEASE SEND TO REAL LIFE: Ray Johnson Photographs reveals the “career in photography” that occupied the artist in the last three years of his life.

The Secret Pictures of Ray Johnson for the New Yorker
The Secret Pictures of Ray Johnson for the New Yorker
June 10, 2022

At the end of his life, the elusive American artist used disposable cameras to take some three thousand pictures, now exhibited at the Morgan Library & Museum, in “Please Send to Real Life: Ray Johnson Photographs.”

Lori Waxman for the Chicago Tribune
Lori Waxman for the Chicago Tribune
February 17, 2022

'Ray Johnson c/o' at Art Institute sums up an artist - with portraits, binders and mail - whose life was his chief artwork...

Rachel Salz for the New York Times
Rachel Salz for the New York Times
January 20, 2022

What's in Our Queue? Mozart and More... Book: 'Ray Johnson c/o'

The catalog to an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago (up through March 21), this book mirrors the inspiring abundance of Johnson's mind and art. It feels itself like a great work of collage, full of pinging resonance.

Best Book & Best Book Covers by AIGA
Best Book & Best Book Covers by AIGA
January 2022

“A publication of this milieu is a tall order and this beautifully designed and dynamic book meets the challenge. The intelligent and thoughtful choices of material, type, and general organization weaves together a textural experience for the reader.” —Kimberly Varella

KEZIAH WEIR for Vanity Fair
KEZIAH WEIR for Vanity Fair
June 26, 2021

Ray Johnson, the elusive mail-art pioneer whose collages and wordplay created an unorthodox social network, died in 1995, but to me he’s a patron saint of the past lonely year. This catalogue, arriving ahead of a Chicago retrospective, is a sweeping primer on his output—and a creative prompt too.

DANIEL FELSENTHAL for The Village Voice
DANIEL FELSENTHAL for The Village Voice
May 11, 2021

‘What a Dump’ Delves Into the Irreverent World of Ray Johnson
A new exhibition examines the artist’s mailings and collages — and his persona...

Paul Laster for Art & Object
Paul Laster for Art & Object
May 11, 2021

Curated by Jarrett Earnest and organized in collaboration with The Ray Johnson Estate, the captivating presentation offers an amusing array of never-before-exhibited artworks from the 1950s through the 1990s.

Robert Heide for Westview News
Robert Heide for Westview News
June 03, 2021

Ray Johnson, Pop-Culture Collagist, Master of ‘The Happening’ and the Mysterious World of Zen Emptiness

Lisa Yin Zhang for the Guide
Lisa Yin Zhang for the Guide
May 2021

Johnson was an obsessive artist in many ways—how else could he have produced such a prolific archive—but this exhibition hones in on his celebrity obsessions as well as other interests.

Dan Golden for Curator
Dan Golden for Curator
May 2021

A conversation with exhibition curator Jarrett Earnest on the occasion of Ray Johnson: WHAT A DUMP, currently on view at David Zwirner in New York.

Gwynned Vitello & Jarrett Earnest for Juxtapoz Magazine
Gwynned Vitello & Jarrett Earnest for Juxtapoz Magazine
April 29, 2021

WHAT A DUMP: A Conversation about Ray Johnson and His Exhibition @ David Zwirner

Wallace Ludell for the Art Newspaper
Wallace Ludell for the Art Newspaper
April 23, 2021

In this exhibition, the curator Jarrett Earnest aims to somewhat reframe the conversation around Johnson—the pranksterish artist known for his mail art and collages—in order to shine a light on him as a queer figure who was in frequent dialogue with other queer artists of the era.

David Graver for Cool Hunting
David Graver for Cool Hunting
April 16, 2021

DAVID ZWIRNER EXPLORES ARTIST RAY JOHNSON’S QUEER IDENTITY IN “WHAT A DUMP” CURATOR JARRETT EARNEST PRESENTS A NUANCED PORTRAIT OF THE OBSESSIVE MAIL ART PIONEER

Blake Gopnik for the New York Times
Blake Gopnik for the New York Times
April 14, 2021

4 Art Gallery Shows to See Right Now: Ray Johnson WHAT A DUMP

Willa Beck for Office
Willa Beck for Office
April 12, 2021

NOTHNG OF THE MONTH CLUB - The last time I visited Off Paradise in Chinatown, right across from the former office office, it was a dreary autumn day. The gallery's current exhibit, NOTHNG OF THE MONTH CLUB (with the “I” purposely left out), very much reflects springtime with its playful tone and humor...

JOSHEN MANTAI for Flaunt Magazine
JOSHEN MANTAI for Flaunt Magazine
April 8, 2021

RAY JOHNSON | 'WHAT A DUMP' AT DAVID ZWIRNER

Taylor Dafoe for ArtNet News
Taylor Dafoe for ArtNet News
March 25, 2021

Ray Johnson Spent the Final Years of His Life Developing an Enigmatic Photography Project. It'll Go on View Next Summer...

Arthur Lubow for T Magazine
Arthur Lubow for T Magazine
March 23, 2021

"An Elusive Artist's Trove of Never-Before-Seen Images" In the years leading up to his death, Ray Johnson took up photography. Now, this body of work is shedding light on his final days...

Frances Beatty & Jason Pickleman on Instagram Live
Frances Beatty & Jason Pickleman on Instagram Live
May 17, 2020

A Conversation with Frances Beatty & Jason Pickleman on Ray Johnson and Mail Art in 2020 via Instagram Live.

Ray Johnson's Pink House by Frances Beatty, as told by Hannah Martin for Apartamento
Ray Johnson's Pink House by Frances Beatty, as told by Hannah Martin for Apartamento
May 2020

Issue #25, with special edition Ray Johnson Bunnyhead spine and never before published photographs by Frances Beatty and Ray Johnson.

Martha Schwendener for The New York Times
Martha Schwendener for The New York Times
April 05, 2019

A review of the group exhibition "Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings" at Petzel Gallery

Jori Finkel for The New York Times
Jori Finkel for The New York Times
April 4, 2019

Tracing the Roots of Photo Sharing, From Mail Art to Instagram

Tom McGlynn for Brooklyn Rail
Tom McGlynn for Brooklyn Rail
April 2019

A review of the group exhibition "Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn's Modification Paintings" at Petzel Gallery

Sarah Rose Sharp for Hyperallergic
Sarah Rose Sharp for Hyperallergic
November 2018

A Portrait of Ray Johnson in His Own Words reviews Julie J. Thomson's new book "That Was the Answer: Interviews with Ray Johnson"

Matthew Rose for Blouin Art
Matthew Rose for Blouin Art
November 2018

Two of a Kind: Ray Johnson & Marcel Duchamp reviews Kate Dempsey Martineau's new book "Ray Johnson: Selective Inheritance"

Blake Gopnik for Art Net News
Blake Gopnik for Art Net News
June 7, 2017

Ray Johnson and Andy Warhol: The Art World's Odd Couple

Megan N. Liberty for Hyperallergic
Megan N. Liberty for Hyperallergic
May 26, 2017

The Tactile Temptation of Ray Johnson's Assemblages

Jim Walrod for Apartamento
Jim Walrod for Apartamento
2017

Duncan Hannah interviewed by Jim Walrod on his career as an artist in a rapidly changing New York

Sarah Rose Sharp for Art in America
Sarah Rose Sharp for Art in America
September 29, 2016

Forms of Address: Ray Johnson’s Bob Boxes...

Mark McGonigal for Detroit Metro Times
Mark McGonigal for Detroit Metro Times
September 21, 2016

‘Ray Johnson: The Bob Boxes’ spills forth at CCS : the sublime art of a known unknown...

Greg Allen for ArtNews
May 10, 2016

AMERICAN BEAUTY: JASPER JOHNS, ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG, AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING FLAG...

Elena Cordova for MoMA
Elena Cordova for MoMA
April 1, 2016

From the Archives: Seeing Double with Ray Johnson...

Mark Guiducci for Vogue
Mark Guiducci for Vogue
December 22, 2015

'5 Artists Who Broke Out in 2015' describes Johnson's rising fame in 2015...

Kirsten Swenson for Art in America
Kirsten Swenson for Art in America
December 16, 2015

“Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957”...

Verbatim in Brooklyn Rail
Verbatim in Brooklyn Rail
December 9, 2015

'Nothing in Print' Widely lauded as the father of the mail art, Ray Johnson’s deadpan irreverence is celebrated in a January, 1968 letter to Grace Glueck of The New York Times...

Tom Sellar for The Village Voice
Tom Sellar for The Village Voice
November 17, 2015

THE BIENNIAL BONANZA ‘PERFORMA 15’ BRINGS US LIVE PERFORMANCES CREATED BY VISUAL ARTISTS...

Haley Weiss and Mark Davis for Interview
Haley Weiss and Mark Davis for Interview
November 13, 2015

'The Curtain Rises in Cyberspace', describes the email performance piece created by Brian Fuata and Susan Gibb for the Performa 15 biennial and Ray Johnson as inspiration.

Joshua Barone for the New York Times
Joshua Barone for the New York Times
November 12, 2015

'A Mail-Art Performance and Other Treats at Performa 15' describes the performance work of Brian Fuata and how he took inspiration from ay Johnson's mail-art practice.

Ray Johnson Estate on ARTnews
Ray Johnson Estate on ARTnews
October 29, 2015

'Please Add To and Return To: Mail Art Homage to Ray Johnson' at Printed Matter, presents images and a brief description of the exhibition that is part of the Performa NYC's biennial.

Lale Arikoglu in the NY Observer
Lale Arikoglu in the NY Observer
October 7, 2015

Meet the Powerhouse Art Dealer Protecting the ‘Most Famous Unknown Artist’s’ Legacy... Feigen's Frances Beatty on her career, and her drive to keep Ray Johnson's work alive

Ken Johnson for the New York Times
Ken Johnson for the New York Times
August 27, 2015

"Recalling Ray Johnson, A Pioneer of Mail Art" by Ken Johnson for The New York Times, August 27 2015. Review of Please Return To.

Tim Keane for Hyperallergic
Tim Keane for Hyperallergic
August 22, 2015

"I Is an Other: The Mail Art of Ray Johnson," long-form review of Please Return To by Tim Keane for Hyperallergic, August 22 2015.

Andrew Russeth in ARTnews
Andrew Russeth in ARTnews
April 2015

Andrew Russeth reviews Ray Johnson's Art World for ARTnews, April 2015.

Robert Pincus-Witten in Artforum
Robert Pincus-Witten in Artforum
February 2015

Robert Pincus-Witten reviews Ray Johnson's Art World in the February 2015 issue of Artforum.

Ray Johnson on VanityFair.com
Ray Johnson on VanityFair.com
January 21, 2015

"Meet Ray Johnson, the Greatest Artist You've Never Heard Of" by Rachel Tashjian on VanityFair.com. January 21 2015.

Roberta Smith on Ray Johnson and Jasper Johns
Roberta Smith on Ray Johnson and Jasper Johns
January 15, 2015

"When Mystery Keeps Works New: Jasper Johns and Ray Johnson on the Upper East Side" by Roberta Smith for The New York Times. January 15, 2015.

Randy Kennedy on Ray Johnson in the New York Times
Randy Kennedy on Ray Johnson in the New York Times
January 8, 2015

"Always on His Own Terms: Ray Johnson Defies Categories 20 Years After His Death" by Randy Kennedy for The New York Times. January 8 2015.

Ray Johnson Ephemera in Modern Painters
Ray Johnson Ephemera in Modern Painters
January 2015

"A Selection of Ray Johnson Ephemera," <i>Modern Painters</i>, January 2015, 48-59.

Ray Johnson and the Birth of Mail Art in i-D
Ray Johnson and the Birth of Mail Art in i-D
October 16, 2014

An interview for with Brendan Dugan and Jay Gorney about their show Ray Johnson at Karma. October 16, 2014.

NY Times Reviews Not Nothing: Selected Writings by Ray Johnson
NY Times Reviews Not Nothing: Selected Writings by Ray Johnson
October 10, 2014

NY Times Review: Life Revealed in Letters and Doodles: ‘Not Nothing’ Tries to Capture the Artist Ray Johnson, August 10, 2014 by Holland Cotter

Homages to Ray Johnson on Vogue.com
Homages to Ray Johnson on Vogue.com
August 11, 2014

Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, Lynda Benglis and Others Debut Homages to Artist Ray Johnson on Vogue.com. By Mark Guiducci.

Ray Johnson Perloff review in the Times Literary Supplement
Ray Johnson Perloff review in the Times Literary Supplement
August 1, 2014

Not Nothing and The Paper Snake reviewed by Marjorie Perloff in the Times Literary Supplement, "You've Got Mail," July 30, 2014.

BOMB Magazine: Clive Phillpot by Elizabeth Zuba
BOMB Magazine: Clive Phillpot by Elizabeth Zuba
July 31, 2014

Elizabeth Zuba interviews Clive Phillpot in BOMB magazine, Human collage, mail art, and punning with the nothing master, July 31, 2014

Hyperallergic: Man of Letters: Ray Johnson Art in Motion
Hyperallergic: Man of Letters: Ray Johnson Art in Motion
July 26, 2014

Frances Richard reviews The Paper Snake and Not Nothing: Selected Writings by Ray Johnson, 1954-1995 for Hyperallergic, July 26 2014.

NY Times Art &amp; Design: Randy Kennedy
NY Times Art & Design: Randy Kennedy
June 25, 2014

The Lively Soul of a Decaying City: Detroit Artists at Marianne Boesky and Marlborough Chelsea Galleries NY Times article by Randy Kennedy, June 25, 2014

Book Forum: Post Modern: How Ray Johnson's contrarian sensibility inspired mail art
Book Forum: Post Modern: How Ray Johnson's contrarian sensibility inspired mail art
June 10, 2014

Albert Mobilio reviews the publications The Paper Snake and Not Nothing: Selected Writings by Ray Johnson, 1954-1995. Summer 2014

Ray Johnson
Ray Johnson
February 14, 2012

Thibaut de Ruyter reviews Ray Johnson: Silhouettes at Berlin's Galerie Aurel Scheibler for Frieze. Spring 2012.

Creature From the Blue Lagoon
Creature From the Blue Lagoon
2012

Karen Rosenberg reviews Creature From the Blue Lagoon

BookTrek
2012

Phillpot, Clive. BookTrek: Selected Essays On Artists' Books From 1972. Paris: JRP-Ringier, 2012.

Ray and Bob Box
Ray and Bob Box
June 23, 2011

Holland Cotter reviews the ESOPUS exhibition of Bob Warner-Ray Johnson mail art for The New York Times.

Code and Inside Jokes (Wink, Wink) for Notorious Provocateurs
Code and Inside Jokes (Wink, Wink) for Notorious Provocateurs
May 29, 2009
Ray Johnson: Raven Row
Ray Johnson: Raven Row
May 2009

Michael Archer reviews Ray Johnson. Please Add to & Return for Artforum.

Ray Johnson: Please Add to &amp; Return
Ray Johnson: Please Add to & Return
April 2009

Martin Herbert reviews the Raven Row exhibition for Art Monthly.

Screen Play
Screen Play
March 1, 2009

Simon Grant previews Ray Johnson. Please Add To & Return in Apollo magazine.

Ray Johnson…Dali/Warhol, and others, “Main Ray, Ducham, Openhein, Pikabia…&quot;
Ray Johnson…Dali/Warhol, and others, “Main Ray, Ducham, Openhein, Pikabia…"
2009

Anne Doran reviews the exhibition at Richard L. Feigen & Co. for Time Out New York.

Top Ten of 2004
Top Ten of 2004
December 20, 2004

Ken Tucker ranks How To Draw A Bunny as one of the best films of 2004.

Film Looks Beyond Bunny
Film Looks Beyond Bunny
September 2, 2004

Tom Isler reviews How to Draw a Bunny for The Southampton Press.

Ray Johnson: Inside an Outsider's World
Ray Johnson: Inside an Outsider's World
May 16, 2004

Patricia C. Johnson reviews How to Draw a Bunny for the Houston Chronicle.

How to Draw a Bunny: A Pop-Art Revolutionary Whose Weapon Was Snail Mail
How to Draw a Bunny: A Pop-Art Revolutionary Whose Weapon Was Snail Mail
April 30, 2004

Jeff Shannon reviews John Walter's and Andrew Moore's documentary for The Seattle Times.

How to Draw a Bunny
How to Draw a Bunny
March 12, 2004

Ella Taylor reviews John Walter's and Andrew Moore's documentary for LA Weekly.

Ray Johnson
Ray Johnson
March 2004

Judith Hoffberg reviews How to Draw a Bunny for ArtScene.

Conceptual Art, in the Days Before E-Mail
Conceptual Art, in the Days Before E-Mail
May 25, 2003

Phyllis Braff reviews Dear Jackson Pollock, Collages and Objects by Ray Johnson for The New York Times.

Ray, We Hardly Knew You
Ray, We Hardly Knew You
January 2003

Raphael Rubinstein reviews How to Draw a Bunny for Art in America.

Drowning By Numbers
Drowning By Numbers
October 11, 2002

Maitland McDonagh reviews How to Draw a Bunny for TV Guide.

Noel Murray reviews How to Draw a Bunny
Noel Murray reviews How to Draw a Bunny
October 1, 2002

Noel Murray reviews How to Draw a Bunny for The Onion A.V. Club.

Critics' Picks: How to Draw a Bunny
Critics' Picks: How to Draw a Bunny
October 10, 2002

Frances Richard reviews John Walter's and Andrew Moore's film for Artforum.

How to Draw a Bunny
How to Draw a Bunny
October 10, 2002

Steven Boone reviews John Walter's and Andrew Moore's documentary for Time Out New York.

'Bunny' Paints Odd Pic
'Bunny' Paints Odd Pic
October 9, 2002

V.A. Musetto reviews How to Draw a Bunny for the New York Post.

An Affectionate Tribute to an Artist's Artist
An Affectionate Tribute to an Artist's Artist
October 9, 2002

Lawrence Van Gelder reviews How to Draw a Bunny for The New York Times.

Drawn Down a Rabbit Hole
Drawn Down a Rabbit Hole
October 9, 2002

Elizabeth Weitzman reviews How to Draw a Bunny for the New York Daily News.

Citizen Ray
Citizen Ray
October 9, 2002

Dennis Lim reviews How to Draw a Bunny for the Village Voice.

A Collage in Which Life = Death = Art
A Collage in Which Life = Death = Art
October 6, 2002

Michael Kimmelman reviews How To Draw A Bunny for The New York Times.

Ray Johnson: How to Draw a Bunny
Ray Johnson: How to Draw a Bunny
October 2002

Review of John Walter's and Andrew Moore's documentary in The Art Newspaper.

Spooling the Real
Spooling the Real
April 2002

Glen Helfand reports on How to Draw a Bunny from the 2002 Sundance Film Festival for Artforum.

Tails from the dark side
Tails from the dark side
2002

Brett Martin reviews How To Draw A Bunny for Time Out New York.

Ray Johnson
Ray Johnson
March 1999

Nayland Blake reviews Ray Johnson: Correspondences for Artforum.

Gibes at the Experts From an Enigmatic Chatterbox
Gibes at the Experts From an Enigmatic Chatterbox
January 15, 1999

Review of Ray Johnson: Correspondences by Holland Cotter in The New York Times.

Cosmic Ray: an open letter to the founder of the New York Correspondence School
Cosmic Ray: an open letter to the founder of the New York Correspondence School
October 1995

A eulogy for Ray Johnson by David Bourdon in Art in America.

Famous for Being Unknown, Ray Johnson Has a Fitting Survey
Famous for Being Unknown, Ray Johnson Has a Fitting Survey
May 19, 1995

Review of Ray Johnson: A Memorial Exhibition by Roberta Smith in The New York Times.

A Performance-Art Death
A Performance-Art Death
March 1995

Harry Hurt III discusses Ray Johnson's death in New York Journal.

Ray Johnson: Collage Jester
Ray Johnson: Collage Jester
December 1984

Gerrit Henry reviews Works by Ray Johnson for Art in America, 1984.

New Art School: Correspondence
New Art School: Correspondence
April 13, 1972

Thomas Albright explores The New York Correspondance School for <i>Rolling Stone</i>.

Artnews Review of Dollar Bills
Artnews Review of Dollar Bills
May 1971

Artnews calls Ray Johnson's Dollar Bill collages "devilishly good-natured homages to the famed and fabled," 1971.

The Mailaway Art of Ray Johnson
The Mailaway Art of Ray Johnson
March 2, 1970

Rosalind Constable explores Ray Johnson's mail art for New York magazine.

Ray Johnson: Letters of Reference
Ray Johnson: Letters of Reference
February 1970

William S. Wilson examines Ray Johnson's work for Arts Magazine.

Pop Art Redefined
Pop Art Redefined
1969

Suzi Gablik highlights Ray Johnson in her book, Pop Art Redefined.

Death Rattler
Death Rattler
1967

Lil Picard discusses Ray Johnson's collage techniques in Arts Magazine.

Artforum: Chicago Reviews
Artforum: Chicago Reviews
1967

An Artforum review of Ray Johnson's first exhibition in Chicago at the Richard Feigen Gallery, 1966.

NY Correspondance School
NY Correspondance School
April 1966

William S. Wilson reviews the New York Correspondance School for Art and Artists.

What Happened? Nothing.
What Happened? Nothing.
April 11, 1965

Grace Glueck reviews the Ray Johnson exhibition at the Willard Gallery for The New York Times, 1965.