ROY LICHTENSTEIN, IMPERFECT 63 3/80“ X 88 7/8”, PERFECT/IMPERFECT SERIES, MIXED MEDIA, WOODCUT AND SCREEN PRINT ON 3 PLY SUPRA 100 PAPER, EDITION OF 45, 1988
Roy Lichtenstein was one of the first artists of the Pop Art movement, who mimicked the visual language of commercial design in his contemporary artworks. The artist was also known for breathing new life into long-established art historical genres, thereby initiating bold dialogues with the art of the past.
The Perfect/Imperfect series were executed between the years of 1978 and 1995. These prints are sensational examples of the varied technical and formal strategies Lichtenstein employed throughout his career. What further sets the Perfect/Imperfect series apart is that the subject matter is entirely self-generated. Rather than deriving his shapes from mass-produced images, Lichtenstein bases both series on an original design. Nevertheless, the two sequences represent the subject matter of pure abstraction quite differently. As opposed to his Perfect prints, where the geometrically precise forms enforce boundaries, the Imperfect prints humorously undermine pictorial limitations.
Imperfect 63, finalised in 1988, is primarily composed of controlled and continuous lines. In this work, Lichtenstein presents an interconnected web of flat geometrical areas in light fuchsia and scarlet. The middle of the composition is adorned by stripes and dots, bordered by strict black contours. Certain lines go out beyond the rectangular base of the print, as if they missed the edge somehow, subtly piercing the alabaster backdrop.
Read more about the Perfect/Imperfect series 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.
