Explore Jasper Johns’ Iconic Flag Series at Craig Starr Gallery
New York — In a rare gathering that celebrates one of the most enduring symbols in postwar American art, Craig Starr Gallery has opened “Jasper Johns: Flags,” reuniting key works from the artist’s groundbreaking series. On view from April 2 through June 27, 2026, the focused exhibition—organized in close collaboration with the 96-year-old Johns and his studio—brings together paintings, drawings, and prints that have redefined how viewers perceive the American flag.
Jasper Johns first shocked the art world in the mid-1950s when he elevated the familiar Stars and Stripes from national emblem to profound artistic subject. By rendering the flag in encaustic wax, collage, and layered paint, he blurred the boundaries between representation and abstraction, object and image. The current show highlights this tension, presenting seldom-seen variations alongside iconic iterations that invite fresh contemplation of patriotism, identity, and visual perception in an era of shifting cultural symbols.
Gallery director Craig Starr described the exhibition as “a quiet yet powerful reunion,” noting the works’ ability to resonate across generations. A new scholarly publication accompanies the show, featuring an essay by noted critic Richard Shiff, which explores Johns’ iterative process and the flag’s enduring conceptual depth.
Visitors to the intimate Upper East Side space will encounter the flag motif in multiple scales and mediums, underscoring Johns’ lifelong fascination with repetition and variation. The exhibition arrives at a moment when questions of national symbolism feel particularly urgent, offering a timely reminder of art’s capacity to complicate rather than simplify.
“Jasper Johns: Flags” runs at Craig Starr Gallery, 5 East 73rd Street, New York, through late June. Admission is free.
The show stands as both a scholarly milestone and a visual feast, reaffirming Johns’ position as a towering figure whose deceptively simple subjects continue to provoke complex dialogue.
