Robert Indiana

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Exhibition Catalogue, Seoul, Seoul Museum of Art, Robert Indiana: A Living Legend, 2006, p. 117, no. 72, illustration of another example in colour
Simon Salama-Caro et al., Robert Indiana, New York 2006, p. 179, illustration of another example in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly warmer and the greys are deeper and richer in the original. Condition: Visible upon close inspection, there is a 1cm scuff with a tiny spot of associated loss on the reverse, left of centre. There is a short light rub mark to the base of the central void towards the reverse of the work, and a few further rubs to the extreme lower edge of the void on the reverse.
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"Nowhere better can we appreciate Indiana's aesthetic achievement in his mature numbers series than by looking at the influence and effect of his typography on contemporary design and sign making." Simon Salama-Caro et al., Robert Indiana, New York 2006, p. 163

 

Robert Indiana has forever been absorbed in the importance of the sign within American history, and its ability to encapsulate intangible meanings, desires and emotions through a reduced language of bold accessible letters and numbers. What distinguishes Indiana from his contemporaries is the depth of his personal engagement with his subject matter.

Beginning in 1980, Indiana worked on a large-scale series of numbers. Using a range of hues, Indiana aspired to evoke life's evolving stages through these impressively oversized sculptures. Whilst other numbers combine vibrant bold colours reminiscent of the changing seasons, emotions and time, Zero presents the viewer with an absence of colour suggestive of purity and nihilism.  The eternal oval shape achieves a perfect balanced rhythm that encourages the viewer to interact with its positive and negative spaces. Executed on a monumental scale, Zero is elevated from a simple number to a captivating and powerful symbol, indicative of transition and new beginnings, continuous themes in contemporary America.