Lot 144 PROPERTY FROM A MIDWESTERN COLLECTION
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)
Maquette for Small Explosion (Desk Explosion)
Closed11 November 2009
Price Realised
USD 98,500
More Information
Specialist note
This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné being prepared by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Throughout his career, Lichtenstein re-defined the relationship between reproduction and art. With Maquette for Small Explosion (Desk Explosion), he reproduces his own work this time, translating imagery from his war comic paintings into another medium, while cleverly commenting on the mechanical nature of his working method in the process.
Appropriating the perforated templates he used to create the Benday dot effect in his paintings, Lichtenstein defines the blast-cloud with points of light instead of paint. Centered by the bright, spiky body of the blast, Maquette for Small Explosion (Desk Explosion) freezes a moment of fire into a floral abstraction, which crackles with Pop energy and newness.
Throughout his career, Lichtenstein re-defined the relationship between reproduction and art. With Maquette for Small Explosion (Desk Explosion), he reproduces his own work this time, translating imagery from his war comic paintings into another medium, while cleverly commenting on the mechanical nature of his working method in the process.
Appropriating the perforated templates he used to create the Benday dot effect in his paintings, Lichtenstein defines the blast-cloud with points of light instead of paint. Centered by the bright, spiky body of the blast, Maquette for Small Explosion (Desk Explosion) freezes a moment of fire into a floral abstraction, which crackles with Pop energy and newness.