Extended through July 19, 2024
Installation view with Roy Lichtenstein, Bauhaus Stairway Mural (1989)
Artwork © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein. Photo: Rob McKeever
Roy Lichtenstein
Bauhaus Stairway Mural, 1989
Oil and Magna on canvas, 26 feet 5 ¾ inches × 17 feet 11 ¾ inches (807.1 × 548 cm)
© Estate of Roy Lichtenstein. Photo: Rob McKeever
Bob Adelman: Why mural painting?
Roy Lichtenstein: For the pleasure of the dance.
Gagosian is pleased to announce the installation of Roy Lichtenstein’s Bauhaus Stairway Mural (1989) in the gallery at 555 West 24th Street, New York. This is the second time that Gagosian has exhibited a Lichtenstein mural, following the replication of Greene Street Mural (1983) at the same location in 2015.
In the 1960s, Lichtenstein forged a new approach to painting by fusing popular culture and Western art history. His work is rooted in the seductive powers of advertising, and elevates the graphic imagery of popular print media and comic book illustrations to the realm of high art. Employing a handmade process, he mimicked the printing techniques of magazines and newspapers, making Benday dots and bright color synonymous with Pop art. Lichtenstein produced murals throughout his career, from Girl in a Window for the New York State Pavilion of the 1964 World’s Fair to Times Square Mural, designed in 1994 and installed in 2002.
Measuring more than 26 feet tall and painted in oil and Magna on canvas, Bauhaus Stairway Mural pays homage to German abstract artist Oskar Schlemmer (1888–1943) and his painting Bauhaustreppe (Bauhaus Stairway, 1932). Lichtenstein’s mural was commissioned for the main atrium of the headquarters of the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Beverly Hills, which the building’s architect, I.M. Pei, envisioned as a meeting place for writers, directors, actors, musicians, and agents—an emphasis on cross-disciplinary interaction that resonated with Lichtenstein’s interest in accessible creative forms.
555 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
+1 212 741 1111
newyork@gagosian.com
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10–6 by appointment
Notice: Photography and video are not permitted in the exhibition.
Gagosian
press@gagosian.com
Hallie Freer
hfreer@gagosian.com
+1 212 744 2313
Polskin Arts
Meagan Jones
meagan.jones@finnpartners.com
+1 212 593 6485
Julia Esposito
julia.esposito@finnpartners.com
+1 212 715 1643
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about this exhibition
Actor and art collector Steve Martin reflects on the friendship and professional partnership between Roy Lichtenstein and art dealer Irving Blum.
The Summer 2024 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring a detail of Roy Lichtenstein’s Bauhaus Stairway Mural (1989) on the cover.
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Jack Cowart, Executive Director of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and Rob McKeever, a former assistant to Lichtenstein, recall the making of the original Greene Street Mural.
More than thirty years after its creation, Gagosian presents a full-scale painted replica of the original Greene Street Mural by Roy Lichtenstein, based on documentation from the artist’s studio and produced by sign painters under the supervision of his former studio assistant.
