Roy Lichtenstein

Brushstrokes, 1996

• Painted and fabricated aluminum
• 13'6" x 7'4" x 29'5"
• Lent by the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
• At Brown: November 2003 - October 2007
• Installed on McMillan Green

Brushstrokes, the second of Lichtenstein’s sculptures to be installed on campus, stood on McMillan Green from November 2003 – October 2007. Made up of four large brush stroke shapes that lean on and extend from one another, this piece features the Pop Art aesthetic and style developed by the artist throughout his career. The dynamic forms and vibrant colors explode from the ground and sweep through the air.

By taking the brushstroke off the surface and rendering it in three-dimensional free-floating forms, Lichtenstein both uses and moves beyond painting. This critical engagement is typical of Lichtenstein, and represents one of the ways in which Pop Art set itself in opposition to Abstract Expressionism. Lichtenstein’s two dimensional brushstroke images also perform this shift away from painterly abstraction, yet in his sculptures, form and style are explored in new spatial relationships with viewer and site. The size of this work is uncharacteristic for Lichtenstein. Though he created other large works, he wanted to resist creating overly heroic sculpture and tended more towards human-scaled three-dimensional works.