Forms in Space

Medium: Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK paper
Year: 1985
Image: 31 1/8 x 47 1/2 inches (79 x 120.7 cm)
Sheet: 35 3/4 x 52 inches (90.8 x 132 cm)
Edition: 125
Artist’s Proofs: 20
Publisher: The artist for the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania
Literature: Corlett 217

Roy Lichtenstein Catalogue Raisonne: RLCR 3428

Forms in Space, 1985 (RLCR 3428) | Catalogue entry | Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné

Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil

 

 

Perhaps no artist of the Twentieth Century has employed such an instantly recognizable visual language as Roy Lichtenstein. His signature palette of bold primary colors set against neutral blocks of black, white and gray creates stunningly dynamic canvases from which his signature dots and bold lines emerge. He is as well known for this very technique as he is for the subjects he paints— interior scenes, portraits of consumer products, filmic scenes transformed from the pages of comic books, and, as in the case of the present lot, emblems of American culture. His approach to creating is both unique in its style and symbolic of the times in its use of appropriation. Lichtenstein’s imagery thrusts forth the objects in a bold and striking super-reality; culling inspiration from the everyday imagery of Americana, his work has sustained its prominence as one of the most radical and unique visions of the Post-War period.

Like many artists of the late Twentieth Century, Lichtenstein used his compositions to address the rampant consumerism and commercialization of the time. By choosing an omnipresent image—the American flag—and reimagining it with a new color scheme, bold lines, and sharp contrast, he imbues his work with a deep pathos of contemporary American culture. He accentuates the banality of a recognizable symbol, and fully explores the artifice of perspective and the limits of flatness. Instead of white stars against a blue background, magnified blue dots take their place, and we find thick and bold diagonal red lines as a substitute for the vertical alternating red and white stripes. Forms in Space hints at a comic-book inspired narrative of the symbol of Americana.

Lichtenstein’s interpretation of the American flag, is not just mechanized through enlarged dots and slanted lines, but evokes something of the actual mechanics of perception. Lichtenstein investigates the ways in which the eyes perceive color, distance, shape and form, by abstracting an image that is burned in our memories in one particular and unerring way. Lichtenstein’s configuration of lines, dots, and colors forces us to read the American symbol as a new image, challenging our reflexes and intuition. Replacing the stars with simple circles, Lichtenstein comments on consumerism’s contribution to American culture: the stars are now dulled into mundane representations of their former glory. In addition, the angled relationship of Lichtenstein’s stripes to their referent signals a nation in straits with tenets of its original values. Forms in Space, though highly saturated in its connotations of a dystopian America, is the quintessential embodiment of Lichtenstein’s brilliant refashioning of icons. In and of itself, it is a symbol of two freedoms: artistic and individualistic.

PICTURED IN HARING’S HOME. © KEITH HARING FOUNDATION. POLAROIDS, THE KEITH HARING FOUNDATION ARCHIVES

Like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein was a major influence on Haring. Lichtenstein’s bold decision to turn away from Abstract Expressionism in favor of depicting popular cartoons prefigures some of the playful and accessible imagery and style that Haring perfected.

 

 

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Auction Results

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ROY LICHTENSTEIN
Forms in Space (Corlett 217), 1985
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered on the lower right
From the edition of 125

Christie’s New-York: 25 October 2024
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 88,200

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Forms in Space (Corlett 217), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 20⁄125 (there were also twenty artist’s proofs)

Freeman’s Hindman: 11 May 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 80,000
USD 82,550

ROY LICHTENSTEIN
Forms in Space, 1985
Color screenprint on Rives BFK paper
Pencil signed, dated and numbered 49/125 (there are also 20 artist’s proofs)

Christie’s New-York: 28 October 2023
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 107,100

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Forms in Space, 1985
Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 60⁄125

Sotheby’s New-York: 24 October 2023
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 88,900

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Forms in Space (C. 217), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK wove paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 87/125

Heritage Auctions: 24 October 2023
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 81,250

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Forms in Space (C. 217), 1985
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed, editioned 52/125 and dated in pencil, lower right

Phillips New-York: 20 April 2023
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 82,550

Sotheby’s New-York: 28 October 2022
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 107,100

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Forms in Space, 1985
Screen-print in colors on Rives BFK paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 97/125
This impression is number 97 from the edition of 125 plus 20 artist’s proofs

Christie’s London: 24 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 113,400

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Forms in Space, 1985
Screen-print in colors on wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 45/125 (there were also twenty artist’s proofs)

Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring
Sotheby’s New-York: 1 October 2020
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 214,200
NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR FORMS IN SPACE

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
FORMS IN SPACE, 1985
Silkscreen on paper
Signed, dated ‘85, numbered AP 13/20 and inscribed For Keith