Lot Essay
Please note that this work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue Raisonne of paintings and sculpture being prepared by Simon Salama-Caro.
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Peace: A Pearl in Peril
Details
Robert Indiana (b. 1928)
Peace: A Pearl in Peril
stamped with the artist’s stamp, signature, date and inscription ' VINALHAVEN INDIANA 03’ (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
50 7/8 x 50 7/8 in. (129.2 x 129.2 cm.)
Painted in 2003.
Peace: A Pearl in Peril
stamped with the artist’s stamp, signature, date and inscription ' VINALHAVEN INDIANA 03’ (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
50 7/8 x 50 7/8 in. (129.2 x 129.2 cm.)
Painted in 2003.
Provenance
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York
Waddington Galleries, London
Private collection
Anon. sale; Sotheby’s New York, 15 November 2006, lot 326
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Waddington Galleries, London
Private collection
Anon. sale; Sotheby’s New York, 15 November 2006, lot 326
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Literature
M. Andre, “An Artist Says His Peace,” New York: Daily News, May 2004 (illustrated).
S. Kennedy, “Putting his Stamp on Love,” The Advocate, June 2004, p. 182 (illustrated in color).
S. Kennedy, “Putting his Stamp on Love,” The Advocate, June 2004, p. 182 (illustrated in color).
Exhibited
New York, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Indiana: Peace Paintings, April – May, 2004, n.p., n. 5 (illustrated in color).
London, Waddington Galleries, Robert Indiana: Paintings and Sculpture 1961 to 2003, September – October 2003, n.p., n. 16 (illustrated in color).
London, Waddington Galleries, Robert Indiana: Paintings and Sculpture 1961 to 2003, September – October 2003, n.p., n. 16 (illustrated in color).
Further Details
"I think of my peace paintings as one long poem, with each painting being a single stanza” (Excerpt from “Love, Robert Indiana,” interview by Steve Lafreniere, Index, April/May 2004).
Robert Indiana, a leader of the American Pop movement, is best known for his iconic work, LOVE; which he identifies as ‘a one-word poem.’ The hard-edged, interlocking shapes, solid colors, and simple language that famously make up LOVE are key elements found in his painting, Peace: A Pearl in Peril. Through a similar creative process, Indiana blends these elements into one strong, cohesive image. The circular format that Indiana uses for the text is a template that he has prolifically used throughout his career; the inspiration for which originated from an American Hay Company stencil he found. This incorporation of American industrial imagery exemplifies just one of the many ways Indiana utilized American iconography as a source of subject matter to simultaneously celebrate and critique.
As a child, Indiana’s adoptive father Earl Clark worked at Phillips 66, an oil company in Indianapolis. Frequent visits to the company sparked his interest in the modernity of American car culture, including its highways, roadside diners and gas stations. The yellow fill of the circle and the square canvas, tilted just as the ‘O’ in LOVE, resemble the appearance of a roadside sign, making the alliterated text a kind of statement or warning for what lies ahead. Although the words both appear and sound simple and direct, the ‘stanza’ is obscure and puzzling. Is Indiana saying that peace in being subjugated by peril, or that peace is emerging from the peril? In typical fashion Indiana creates simplified text to address a complex issue.
Robert Indiana, a leader of the American Pop movement, is best known for his iconic work, LOVE; which he identifies as ‘a one-word poem.’ The hard-edged, interlocking shapes, solid colors, and simple language that famously make up LOVE are key elements found in his painting, Peace: A Pearl in Peril. Through a similar creative process, Indiana blends these elements into one strong, cohesive image. The circular format that Indiana uses for the text is a template that he has prolifically used throughout his career; the inspiration for which originated from an American Hay Company stencil he found. This incorporation of American industrial imagery exemplifies just one of the many ways Indiana utilized American iconography as a source of subject matter to simultaneously celebrate and critique.
As a child, Indiana’s adoptive father Earl Clark worked at Phillips 66, an oil company in Indianapolis. Frequent visits to the company sparked his interest in the modernity of American car culture, including its highways, roadside diners and gas stations. The yellow fill of the circle and the square canvas, tilted just as the ‘O’ in LOVE, resemble the appearance of a roadside sign, making the alliterated text a kind of statement or warning for what lies ahead. Although the words both appear and sound simple and direct, the ‘stanza’ is obscure and puzzling. Is Indiana saying that peace in being subjugated by peril, or that peace is emerging from the peril? In typical fashion Indiana creates simplified text to address a complex issue.
Brought to you by
Edward Tang