PARRISH ART MUSEUM LOANED
TOWERING PAIR OF SCULPTURES
BY ARTIST ROY LICHTENSTEIN
Tokyo Brushstrokes I & II Installed on Front Lawn of the Museum
Roy Lichtenstein’s monumental sculpture, Tokyo Brushstroke I & II (1994) is now on view at the Parrish Art Museum. The first long-term, outdoor installation at the Parrish Art Museum’s new Herzog & de Meuron-designed building, the sculpture is placed outdoors on the front lawn, west of the driveway entrance to the Museum, near Montauk Highway. Tokyo Brushstroke I & II is a long-term loan by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, courtesy of Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman and the Fuhrman Family Foundation.
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“The Parrish Art Museum is thrilled to become the home for Tokyo Brushstroke I & II at this time,” said Parrish Art Museum Director Terrie Sultan. “We are tremendously grateful to the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Fuhrman Family Foundation for their generosity. This awe-inspiring work promises to become a cultural landmark and a beacon, drawing visitors to the Parrish.”
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Tokyo Brushstroke I & II is made of painted and fabricated aluminum—fabricated by Paul Amaral / Amaral Custom Fabrication in Rhode Island. Taller than the Parrish itself, Tokyo Brushstroke I stands 33 feet high (actual dimensions: 396 x 112 x 90 inches) and weighs over 12,000 pounds. Tokyo Brushstroke II weighs approximately 5,000 pounds, stands 19 feet high (actual dimensions: 233 3⁄4 x 105 x 39 inches), and is situated closer to Montauk Highway.Tokyo Brushstroke I & II is part of a series of “brushstroke” sculptures constructed mainly in the 1990s. Similar “Brushstroke Groups” can be found in Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Washington, D.C., and other cities.Lichtenstein said of the work, “It’s a symbol of something it isn’t and that is part of the irony I’m interested in.” The work asks questions about the contradictions between the ephemeral nature of the artist’s brushstroke and the monumentality and permanence of art.
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The presence of Tokyo Brushstroke I & II at the Parrish Art Museum continues the legacy of Lichtenstein on the East End. Roy Lichtenstein and his wife Dorothy moved to Southampton to live year-round in 1970, beginning a warm and enduring relationship with the Parrish Art Museum and the East End of Long Island. In 1982, the Museum organized an exhibition of 48 Lichtenstein paintings from 1951 to the early 1980s, the first to include rarely seen early works such as the iconic Look Mickey (1961). Other monographic shows of his work at the Parrish Art Museum include: The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein, a major exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., (1995), and Roy Lichtenstein: American Indian Encounters (2006) that paired his paintings with Native American artifacts from the Montclair Art Museum. In the summer of 1995, the Parrish Art Museum brought the impressive monumental stainless steel sculpture Modern Head (1989) to Southampton’s Lake Agawam Park.
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Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was an American pop art painter active in New York from the 1960s until his death in 1997. He is best known for his iconic large-scale paintings based on comic books. Lichtenstein continues to be one of the most influential and recognizable artists of the 20th century.
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Image: Roy Lichtenstein’s Tokyo Brushstroke I & II installed on the front lawn of the Parrish Art Museum. Photo by Jeff Heatley.
The Parrish Art Museum is the oldest cultural institution on the East End of Long Island, uniquely situated within one of the most concentrated creative communities in the United States. The Parrish is dedicated to the collection, preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of art from the nineteenth century to the present, with a particular focus on honoring the rich creative legacy of the East End, celebrating the region’s enduring heritage as a vibrant art colony, telling the story of our area, our “sense of place,” and its national—even global—impact on the world of art. The Parrish is committed to educational outreach, to serving as a dynamic cultural resource for its diverse community, and to celebrating artistic innovation for generations to come.
www.parrishart.org
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