Robert Indiana exhibition opens today at McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio has today opened 'Robert Indiana: A Legacy of Love', which includes over 75 paintings, prints, sculptures, costume designs, and digital artworks by Robert Indiana and a number of his contemporaries and subsequent generations.
A self-proclaimed “painter of signs,” Robert Indiana shaped a highly original body of work that explores American identity; his own personal history; and the power of abstraction, symbolism, and language.
Surveying Indiana’s art in conversation with works by his peers and successors, this exhibition examines the innovative foreground of text and symbol within visual art during the postwar era. With artworks that at once call on the viewer to “see” and to “read,” Robert Indiana pioneered a triumphant union of text and image that remains undeniably relevant today.
Known as one of the leaders of the Pop art movement of the 1960s, Indiana’s prolific career extends well beyond this period. The artist created paintings, prints, and sculptures characterized by clean lines and saturated color until his passing in 2018. Robert Indiana: A Legacy of Love invites you to explore the artist’s multidecade career, from his iconic LOVE compositions to his larger-than-life painting style.
From Pop artists including Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, to contemporary artists including Mel Bochner, Deborah Kass, Glenn Ligon, Stephanie Patton, and Jack Pierson, this exhibition presents examples ranging from 1963 to the present in conversation with shared themes in Indiana’s artwork. Of particular interest are examples by artists with ties to San Antonio, including Jesse Amado, Alejandro Diaz, Chuck Ramirez, Ethel Shipton, and Gary Sweeney. Robert Indiana’s lasting impact on the history of contemporary art remains profound, as his images take on new meanings in the present day.
