This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997). To honor the artist, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation will be gifting paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, reference materials and archival films to museums in the United States and abroad.
The first round of 186 artworks will be given to the Albertina in Vienna, Austria, the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.
October 27, 2023 is Lichtenstein's birthday, the official centenary date, but observances of the occasion began in April when the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a set of Roy Lichtenstein postage stamps.
A book by Julie Wolfe, conservator of decorative arts and sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Museum has published a book called Roy Lichtenstein: Outdoor Painted Sculpture. The book looks at the materials, process and conservation of Roy Lichtenstein’s sculptures. Many of his large, brilliantly-colored sculptures have been braving the outdoor elements for decades and Wolfe focuses on the importance of their care and preservation.
Future Centennial events in honor of Roy Lichtenstein are being planned at the Albertina in Vienna, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and at the Whitney in New York.
In 2019, Katherine Bernhardt (b. 1975) gave up her studio in Brooklyn and moved back to her hometown of St. Louis with her 12-year-old son. She stayed in her childhood bedroom for a while and set up a studio and gallery, in an old automotive shop, to showcase her work and the work of local artists.
About two years ago she bought a house that she had always admired when she drove past, sitting in her parents’ car when she was a child.
The 6,000-square-foot house, built in 1984, is the perfect background for her and her nostalgic artwork. The pink and blue walls are ideal for her paintings of E.T., the Pink Panther, Bart Simpson and the other ‘80s-feel-good works.
Katherine Bernhardt recently had her first solo show in Hong Kong, recent paintings of the characters from Pokémon.
Julie Curtiss’ (b. 1982) smooth, sultry and surreal paintings have garnered international attention. Her works are in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Bronx Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, the High Museum in Atlanta, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Maki Collection in Japan and the Yuz Museum in Shanghai.
Curtiss is preparing for her first exhibit in Hong Kong. Julie Curtiss: Bitter Apples will feature paintings, sculptures and works on paper, as well as Curtiss’ first film work. The exhibit, at the White Cube Hong Kong will run from September 1, 2023 through November 11, 2023.
References:
Kate Guadagnino. This St. Louis House Is a Pattern-Filled Time Portal to the ’80s. The New York Times Style Magazine. August 18, 2023.
Jason Rosenfeld. Art Seen: Julie Curtiss: Somnambules. The Brooklyn Rail. October 2022.
