Tag: roy lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein at Gagosian Gallery

Created for the atrium of the theatrical management agency Creative Arts Agency’s IM Pei designed headquarters in 1989, Roy Lichtenstein’s Bauhaus Stairway Mural dominates a single cavernous room at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea.  Featuring the artist’s signature Benday dots and primary colors that imitate commercial printing techniques, the painting remakes Oscar Schlemmer’s famous 1932 painting of students at the Bauhaus, the famous pre-WWII German school of art and design.  Though the original was created in response to the Nazi closing of the school, Lichtenstein’s streamlined forms and bright colors on a huge scale suggest a more positive outlook on the upward movement of arts and ideas.  (On view through Dec 22nd).

Roy Lichtenstein, Bauhaus Stairway Mural, oil and magna on canvas, 26 x 5 ¾’ x 17’ x 11 ¾ inches, 1989.

Ugo Mulas at Matthew Marks Gallery

Late Italian photographer Ugo Mulas made his name documenting the Venice Biennials from 1954 – 1972 and establishing relationships with Italy’s major post-war artists.  In the ‘60s, his purview expanded to New York where he met and photographed now iconic avant-garde artists from Barnett Newman to Marcel Duchamp.  These photos and more at Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea offer a peek at yesteryear’s art scene, from the police closing a Warhol loft party to intimate shots of Jasper Johns at work.  Here, Roy Lichtenstein inhabits one of his cartoon scenarios with good humor.  (On view through August 16th).

Ugo Mulas, Roy Lichtenstein, vintage gelatin silver print, 10 ½ x 17 7/8 inches, 1964.

Roy Lichtenstein at Castelli Gallery

Like finding shapes in the clouds or interpreting a Rorschach inkblot, Roy Lichtenstein’s brushstroke head sculptures from 1987 build a portrait from a few well-placed marks. Though she’s derived from Pop Art and Abstract Expressionist painting techniques, this blond muse rejects painting altogether, manifesting as a 3-D bronze sculpture. (At Castelli Gallery through Jan 28th).

Roy Lichtenstein, Brushstroke Head II, painted and patinated bronze, 28 7/8 x 13 ¼ inches, 1987.
Roy Lichtenstein, Brushstroke Head II, painted and patinated bronze, 28 7/8 x 13 ¼ inches, 1987.

Roy Lichtenstein at Gagosian Gallery

The pyramids meet a great big expressionist splash of paint in a recreation of a mural by Roy Lichtenstein from 1983, which brings together references from art history and Lichtenstein’s previous work in a size XXL jumble. Originally installed for six weeks at Leo Castelli Gallery before being painted over, Gagosian Gallery is currently hosting a redo, accompanied by paintings and sculpture that flesh out Lichtenstein’s subject matter, from a Picasso head to a piece of Swiss cheese. (In Chelsea through Oct 17th).

Roy Lichtenstein, Greene Street Mural, 1983 (replica, 2015).

Christian Marclay at Paula Cooper Gallery

Visitors expecting more of Christian Marclay’s enormously popular video work will get a shock from his latest solo show – a selection of paintings in which silkscreened, Roy Lichtenstein-like cartoon text meets Abstract Expressionist splashes of color.  (At Paula Cooper Gallery through Jan 18th.  Check website for holiday season opening hours.)  

Christian Marclay, Actions:  Whaak Plop Plooch Sooosh (No 4), screenprint and acrylic on canvas, 2013.