Robert Indiana
On Thursday, 21st September 2023, Shapero Modern is opening an exhibition solely focused on works by Robert Indiana (1928-2018) just a few days after what would have been his 95th birthday. It will be on view at the Maddox Street gallery until 4th November.
Amongst the works on display you can expect to find numerous examples of his most famous work, the square 'LOVE' composition. One of the most recognisable images of the American Pop Art movement, it is also a pioneering piece of hard-edged abstraction - an approach to painting that became widespread in the 1960s and is characterised by areas of flat colour with sharp, clear (or ‘hard’) edges.
Where there is 'LOVE' there is 'HOPE', a stunning series that Indiana once described as the 'long-awaited sibling of LOVE' which demonstrates the artist's skillful gradation technique in screenprinting.
Another highlight of the exhibition is Indiana's 'The Decade Portfolio', which is one of his most autobiographical works. Created in 1971, the ‘Decade’ series is a reflection back on the artist’s previous ten years, which was a pivotal period for popular culture and the US as a nation, as well as his own career. The artist considered this work as a continuation of his earlier ‘American Dream’ series, which was the first time Indiana began to incorporate images taken from pin-ball machines, billboards and American road signs in order to blend the literal with the visual to make ‘a comment on the superficiality of American life,’ as Indiana once described.
