ROY LICHTENSTEIN, GREEN FACE, BRUSHSTROKE FACES SERIES, MIXED MEDIA LITHOGRAPH, WOODCUT AND SCREEN PRINT ON SAUNDERS WATERFORD PAPER, EDITION OF 60, 1989
Roy Lichtenstein’s Green Face constitutes a literal brushstroke portrait. Belonging to the pop icon’s Brushstroke Faces series of 1989, the works in this series parody the mannerism of the abstract expressionists. Using the same spontaneous flat sweeps of paint as his predecessors of the 1940s and 1950s, Lichtenstein seeks to offer criticism on painting’s history itself.
In line with other works from the same series, take Grandpa for instance, Green Face satirises brushwork and its inherent art historical importance. Combining the emotion of abstract painting and his own mechanical pop attitude, the print presents a composition wavering between abstract and figurative.
There is a built-in absurdity in this series, with which the artist tackles the idea of the genius artist who leaves his subconscious on the canvas in the shape of a brushstroke. Lichtenstein goes as far as framing his own composition in Green Face, with the help of light grey dabs of paint.
Similar to his other prints from the series christened Nude and Blonde, Green Face employs a colour palette uncharacteristic of Lichtenstein. Moreover, the artist has chosen to partly erase his own signature marks in this work. His familiar red and yellow outlines and the Ben day dots have been concealed beneath neutral pastels.
Find out more about Brushstroke Faces by Roy Lichtenstein.
ABOUT ROY LICHTENSTEIN
Born in Manhattan in 1923, Roy Lichtenstein was a leading figure in the Pop Art movement during the second half of the 20th century. His distinctive artistic style is inspired by the visual language of consumerism and advertising that pervaded American popular culture at the time, and his work recalls a society of widespread commercialism that has remained powerfully relevant to this day. Learn more about Roy Lichtenstein.
