Yesterday was a beautiful spring day in New York City, and I was on an inspiration trip with our Design Team when we all fell over (backwards) in love with Roy Lichtenstein’s Landscapes in the Chinese Style exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery’s Chelsea location. While most of the public recognizes his super-sized comic book prints from the 1960’s, he spent 30 years exploring styles and motifs that he is not commonly associated with. These serene, ethereal pieces were inspired by the monochromatic prints of Edgar Degas which Lichtenstein discovered at a 1994 exhibition at The Met. Lichtenstein was able to re-interpret the concept with his well-established, instantly recognizable use of carefully stylized “Ben-Day dots”. His intention with the meticulously stenciled dots, was to “mimic printing, block contours, rendered in hard vivid color, with all traces of the hand removed.” As you can see in the images below, he accomplished that with great success.
What I find most interesting is that these landscapes are from 1996; the year before Roy left us. Its really inspiring to observe the constant evolution and reinvention that a true artist cannot escape. Right up until the very end.
You are missed, Roy Lichtenstein.
D.
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