Roy Lichtenstein

St. Louis Art Museum; Seattle Art Museum, Roy Lichtenstein: 1970-1980, May 1981 - September 1981
New York, Leo Castelli Gallery, Lichtenstein: New Works, October - November 1981
Paris, Galerie Daniel Templon, Roy Lichtenstein: oeuvres récentes, January - February 1983

“I was very interested in characterizing or caricaturing a brush stroke…I got the idea very early because of the Mondrian and Picasso paintings which inevitably led to the idea of a de Kooning, the brush strokes obviously refer to Abstract Expressionism.” (Roy Lichtenstein interviewed by John Coplans, 1967, Exh. Cat., London, Tate Gallery, Roy Lichtenstein, 1968, p. 12)

Roy Lichtenstein’s manipulation of the brush stroke, the cornerstone of Abstract Expressionism, into an image that exudes a purely Pop sensibility illustrates his witty nature and keen artistic abilities.  Apple & Grapefuit is an extraordinary graphic work.  Borrowing from the Cubist traditions of the still-life and rendering the work in a style exaggerating the traditions of Abstract Expressionism, Lichtenstein has taken Pop Art’s use of appropriated images to a new and startling level.  The deliberate and mechanized production of the brush-strokes stands in stark contrast to the emotionally and impulsively laid strokes of artist’s such as Mitchell, de Kooning and Kline.  Apple & Grapefruit is a glossy and slick canvas, its bright, bold, unmixed colors achieved through Lichtenstein’s use of both oil and magna paints – pure Pop.