Chem IA
Chem IA
Signed Print
Roy Lichtenstein
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Screenprint, 1970
Signed Print Edition of 100
H 76cm x W 51cm
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2020 | Phillips New York - United States | Chem IA - Signed Print | |||
| May 2011 | Bonhams San Francisco - United States | Chem IA - Signed Print | |||
| May 2008 | Bonhams San Francisco - United States | Chem IA - Signed Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Roy Lichtenstein’s Chem IA of 1970 was created concurrent with the artist’s Peace Through Chemistry series centered around the topic of scientific growth. This signed screen print utilises strategically placed patterns and rich primary colours in repurposing the streamlined industrial design of the 1930s. The work was executed as part of a limited edition of 100.
The screen print counteracts notions of classical art, exhibiting masterfully orchestrated compositions fuelled by an inclination for social commentary. Repurposing the inescapable imagery of commercial culture, the work’s formal sources can be traced back to the sleek industrial design of the 1930s.
Chem IA uses solid white support and inflated comic book shapes in its schematised depiction of a scientist studying the contents of a test tube. As the factory wheels turn in the lower-left corner of the canvas, so do the thoughts inside his head. Tone and texture are achieved through the superimposed Ben Day dots in the work’s backdrop. The stylised layout also functions as a cubist revision of the propaganda disseminated throughout the United States over the course of the 1970s.
The artist uses elementary symbols, rendering every shape an inanimate object. The angularity of the industrial elements depicted are offset by the curvilinear lines alluding to human touch. The imagery ultimately pins humanity against machinery, reflecting on industrialisation’s claim that peace is achievable through science. Saturated in irony, Chem IA is straightforward in its criticism of contemporary social and political change.
