Brushstroke series

Brushstrokes series is the name for a series of paintings produced in 1965–66 by Roy Lichtenstein. It also refers to derivative sculptural representations of these paintings that were first made in the 1980s. In the series, the theme is art as a subject, but rather than reproduce masterpieces as he had starting in 1962, Lichtenstein depicted the gestural expressions of the painting brushstroke itself. The works in this series are linked to those produced by artists who use the gestural painting style of abstract expressionism made famous by Jackson Pollock, but differ from them due to their mechanically produced appearance. The series is considered a satire or parody of gestural painting by both Lichtenstein and his critics. After 1966, Lichtenstein incorporated this series into later motifs and themes of his work.

In the early 1960s, Lichtenstein reproduced masterpieces by Cézanne, Mondrian and Picasso before embarking on the Brushstroke series in 1965. The Brushstrokes were contemporaneous with abstract painting that no longer emphasized the gestural aspect, with non-demonstrative modes carrying the day. Lichtenstein was identified with some such modes by critics and found himself linked to both Frank Stella and Kenneth Noland.Brushstrokes was the first element of the Brushstrokes series.

Prior to producing his first Brushstroke work, Lichtenstein spun his upcoming work as a satire of Abstract Expressionism. He stated that he intended to draw drips of paint and depictions of brush strokes. Years after the series was completed, Lichtenstein claimed the source for the series was Renaissance artist Frans Hals, a painterly artist whose brushstrokes descended from hallowed examples of European art as an inspiration to abstract expressionism.

According to the Lichtenstein Foundation's website, he began creating Brushstroke painting in the autumn of 1965 and presented the Brushstroke series at Castelli's gallery from November 20 through December 11. A 1967 painting entitles Brushstrokes was produced for the Pasadena Art Museum's 1967 Lichtenstein exhibition. Later he produced an eight-print Brushstroke Figures series using collage elements. The series is described as an "... instance of Abstract Expressionism recycled through conventions taken from the mass media ..." He began making sculptural renditions of his Brushstrokes paintings in the early 1980s in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Many of these were painted bronzes.

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