Robert Indiana (1928-2018) - Oranges

Robert Indiana, Oranges, 1969/1997. No Reserve price!

Screen print in color on heavy Velin paper, 43 x 35.5 cm on 55.8 x 43 cm. From an edition of 395. Not signed or numbered.

Text on the cover sheet for screen printing:
oranges; 1969; Oil on canvas; 60" × 50"; homage to precofius : 3 oranges

This Precisionist-meets-Joseph Albers painting is, in effect, Indiana re-inventing the classic still life. The work occupies a purely two-dimensional plane but dissects that reality with surgeonlike precision carving spherical oranges from a triangle, triangle from sphere and finally, the proverbial circle in a square. One could almost view this painting as a Pop bridge to geometrical abstraction, although more truly it bridges Ellsworth Kelly and Jack Youngerman.

Provenance: Private collection Netherlands, private collection Berlin.

Condition: Perfect color reproduction. Small foxing spots on the right upper and lower edge. Please examine the photos closely; they are part of the condition description. Overall, the colors are very vibrant and the condition is beautiful.

About
The American Dream is an iconic screen print portfolio by the American Pop Art artist Robert Indiana, published in 1997 in a limited edition of 395 copies. The work combines 30 powerful prints, including six signed sheets, visually condensing Indiana's central themes such as love, identity, consumerism, patriotism, and American society.
The stylistically typical, vividly colored compositions with typography, numbers, and symbols make the portfolio a milestone of late Pop Art and a sought-after collector's item on the international art market. The edition was produced by MFA Contemporary Atelier in California, additionally supplemented with artist, publisher, and museum proofs.

Biography
The painter, graphic artist, and sculptor Robert Indiana is considered the most important representative of sign art.
Robert Indiana, originally Robert Clark, was born in 1928 in New Castle, Indiana. The boy was adopted by the Clark couple immediately after birth and spent his childhood near Indiana. From 1958, he called himself Robert Indiana.
Indiana is establishing a studio on Coenties Slip at the Lower East River. Artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, James Rosenquist, Jack Youngerman, Ann Wilson, Charles Hinman, and Fred Mitchell also live here — these artists are united in their rejection of gestural Abstract Expressionism.
Especially Ellsworth Kelly significantly influences Robert Indiana (Robert Clark) in this way. The young artist soon begins painting his first works in the strict style of Hard Edge (1957).
In 1960, Robert Indiana made a groundbreaking discovery: he found stencils similar to those used for labeling shipping crates and created from them the stencil-like script as a motif for his works. The characteristic 'signal art style' of Robert Indiana emerged and soon also referenced other sources such as signs or jukeboxes. This brought Robert Indiana closer to pop art.
In the 1960s, Robert Indiana was extremely successful. Especially his 'LOVE' motif became a true icon of those years and was even transformed into a monumental sculpture in 1970.
Works by Robert Indiana can be seen in major international museums, such as the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Robert Indiana lived and worked on Vinalhaven Island in Maine until his death in 2018.