Roy Lichtenstein was a master of appropriation. Applying a systematic approach to his creative energy, the artist’s entire body of work was constructed following a sophisticated strategy of image selection, reinterpretation and reissue. Lichtenstein developed a central creative principle that became a potent formula: an ability to identify over-used cultural clichés and to repackage them as monumental remixes.
This exhibition traces the artist’s print projects from the 1950-90s, exploring how he appropriated, transformed and remixed numerous art historical sources including Claude Monet’s Impressionism, Max Ernst’s Surrealism and de Kooning’s Abstract Expressionism. Lichtenstein reinterpreted the work of these artistic giants and significant art movements using an instantly recognisable graphic aesthetic, effectively branding himself with a signature Lichtenstein look to secure his place alongside those masters he so admired.
National Gallery of Australia
12 July to 27 January, 2014
ACT
Reflections on The Scream, 1990, colour lithograph, screenprint, woodcut, metalized PVC plastic film collage and embossing
Courtesy the NGA and the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
