Robert Indiana from A to Z

Sun, 10/12/2014 – Sun, 01/25/2015

Scheller and Rodale Galleries

In fall 2014, visitors to Allentown saw nearly one hundred works of art from the private collection of one of America’s most celebrated living artists―including some childhood drawings and new works that have never been exhibited. Robert Indiana is a founding father of Pop Art and gave it its “hard edge” in the 1960s. He is also one of the first and most important word artists, renowned for his recognizable icons including LOVE, HOPE, ART, EAT, and his latest masterpiece, The Alphabet, which is in many ways the culmination of his journey using text as image.

Focusing on word art, this exhibition gave insight into Indiana’s landmark career, involving American themes, bright colors, and simple compositions. Robert Indiana was born Robert Clark in New Castle, Indiana. Having lived in twenty-one different homes by the time he was nineteen, he developed an acute sense of place. Indiana was initially interested in the type of realism that was popular in the Midwest in the 1940s by Thomas Hart Benton and Charles Sheeler. Like them he developed an interest in Americana and was especially influenced by signs along the highway. According to the artist, “I am a gatherer, a stacker and an American painter of signs. I saturate the art world and the world at large with my images and my current goal is to bring hope to every corner of the globe.”

Robert Indiana from A to Z was organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions in association with American Image, Katonah, New York, and Rosenbaum Fine Arts, Boca Raton, Florida. Michael McKenzie was the curator of the exhibition, which was accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog written.

Alphabet Wall Red/Gold, 2011, silkscreen on canvas. Image courtesy of American Image Art