Leslie Sacks Gallery announces their forthcoming exhibition of graphic works by Roy Lichtenstein. On the heels of the acclaimed exhibition: Pop for the People: Roy Lichtenstein in L.A. at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, this gallery exhibition will present important editions by the artist from 1965-1996. Including iconic compositions across a variety of printing processes, the works presented in this show exemplify the remarkable experimentation and inventiveness of Roy Lichtenstein’s graphic oeuvre.

Roy Lichtenstein’s work is not merely the comic book inspired, oftentimes-superficial musings of Pop Art. In fact, the work is steeped in art history from Pablo Picasso to Andy Warhol and from Impressionism to German Expressionism. The references can be as overt as the inclusion of Chairman Mao’s portrait hanging on the wall of Modern Room, 1990. Or more subtly presented as in the series Bull Head, 1973 where Lichtenstein reinterprets Picasso’s famous bull series, Le Taureau, 1946, by gradually reducing the bull into complete abstraction across six separate images. After a visit to the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA) in the late 1970s, Lichtenstein became interested in German Expressionism. In the Expressionist Woodcut series, which includes The Couple, 1980, he would forgo his iconic Ben-Day dots and instead employ diagonal, jagged lines in a flattened and highly stylized composition--a direct nod to the German Expressionist movement. The images from the Brushstroke series reference Willem de Kooning’s famous paintings of women whose facial features were re-positioned in a cubist manner. In Portrait, from Brushstroke series, 1989, the handmade strokes, screenprint elements and waxtype process combine to create an abstract portrait that is unmistakably Lichtenstein.

Lichtenstein created over 350 prints and was a major contributor to the mid-century fine art print revival. His prolificacy combined with his technical prowess, sparkling sense of humor and art historical knowledge positioned him as one of the most important artists of all time. The works of Roy Lichtenstein are held in countless modern and contemporary art museums the world over.