Collages - Ray Johnson Estate

Detail: Ray Johnson, Untitled (Mona Lisa Bunny), 1984, Mixed media collage on masonite, 18 x 12 1/2 in., 10224, Private Collection

“Collage became for Johnson the ultimate metaphor for the way he experienced the world. Through collage, he created a seemingly unending array of juxtapositions using the material evidence of the world—what he would find in newspapers or on the street, receive through the mail, hear in a phone conversation, or come across in a motel room.”
- Donna De Salvo, 1999

As his contemporaries became famous, Johnson gradually but purposefully closed off his private life and dwelling, but still maintained connections via trips into New York City, his mail art, the telephone, and various activities in the Long Island community. Johnson, referring to himself as a “mysterious and secret organization,” eventually achieved legendary status as a “pure,” completely un-commercial artist. His underground reputation bubbled beneath the surface into the 1980s, despite his physical absence from the Manhattan art world. Johnson’s presence continued to be felt by those who admired him including Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Chuck Close, Robert Rauschenberg, and a close circle of friends, admirers, and collectors. Only a handful of people were ever allowed into his house and around 1978, he ceased to exhibit or sell his work commercially. In contrast to his physical seclusion, Johnson's pre-digital network of correspondents increased exponentially. Johnson feverishly developed richer and more complex collages, which Whitney Museum curator, Donna de Salvo, described as “extending the compositional network beyond the parameters of an individual work and into the wider world."

Slideshow Thumbnails

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Playgirl), 1981, 1974, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 11 x 14 in., 15097

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Dali Crucifixion with Nancy), circa 1980, mixed media collage on illustration board, 20.062 x 15 in., 13711

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Mona Lisa Bunny), 1984, Mixed media collage on board, 18 x 12.5 in., 10224, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Magenta Georgia O&rsquo;Keefe), 12.15.91, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 10.75 x 8.25 (27.3 x 21), 11932

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Magenta Georgia O’Keefe), 12.15.91, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 10.75 x 8.25 (27.3 x 21), 11932

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (Jasper Johns, James Dean with Coca-Cola), circa 1991-1994, Mixed media collage on corrugated cardboard, 8.438 x 18.125 in., 17924

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Jasper Johns, James Dean with Coca-Cola), circa 1991-1994, Mixed media collage on corrugated cardboard, 8.438 x 18.125 in., 17924

Ray Johnson, Untitled (George Braque with Photo), 4.4.92, Mixed media collage on corrugated cardboard, 10 x 12.625 (25.4 x 32.1), 11095

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Kenneth Anger&rsquo;s Underwear), 9.15.92, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 4.125 x 5.125 in., 19742

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Kenneth Anger’s Underwear), 9.15.92, Mixed media collage on cardboard panel, 4.125 x 5.125 in., 19742

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Basic Instinct Lucky Strike), 5.20.93, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 5.875 x 6.187 (14.9 x 15.7), 19869

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Ray Johnson Collages One Million Dollars Each II), 9.30.93, 12.1.93, 9.18.94, Mixed media collage on corrugated cardboard, 32 x 8.5 (81.3 x 21.6), 10830, Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Ray Johnson, Untitled (River Phoenix Lucky Strike), 11.21.93, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 15 x 11 (38.1 x 27.9), 10261

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Grief), 12.9.93, 3.25.94, Mixed media collage on illustration board, 7.5 x 4 in., 13993

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Long - Please Send to Robert Desnos), 9.18.94, Mixed media collage on corrugated cardboard, 32 x 8.5 in., 10835

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Memories of Marilyn), 8.11.94, Mixed media collage on corrugated cardboard, 13.625 x 10.563 in., 17875, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Elvis Masked with Bob Rauschenberg), 6.7.94, Mixed media collage on bookboard, 10.375 x 7.625 in., 11144, Private Collection

Ray Johnson, Untitled (A Star is Born Bunny), 12.2.94, Mixed media collage on corrugated cardboard, 31.75 x 8.75 (80.6 x 22.2), 10814