Ventriloquist, 1990

With works that encompass the styles of Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism and Neo-Dada, Jasper Johns is an acclaimed painter, printmaker and sculptor, perhaps most notable for his use of lush colour, iconography and artistic references to America. Flag is arguably his most successful work – a painting of the American flag comprised of encaustic oil, paper and fabric; Johns has previously stated that he was always drawn to painting ‘things the mind already knows’ and in using an already recognisable image, he was able to concentrate wholly on the execution of the final product. Johns has also worked extensively with sculptures; Fragment of a Letter is a double-sided relief in which Johns incorporates a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh – using blocks of type, Johns pressed Van Gogh’s words into wax and on the reverse side of the work, he spelled out the letter in the American Sign Language alphabet using self-created stamps. (Artist website)