LOVE Wall

What is a “wall”?

Indiana’s first “walls” were “love walls”, and they were first exhibited in 1966 at New York’s Stable Gallery.   Love was comprised of four paintings or panels.  Each panel contained a painting of his iconic LOVE (with the LO on top, O tilted, and the VE on the bottom).  Each panel was the exact same size and shape – all were square.  The four panels were placed together to make a larger square.  As each panel was rotated, each letter was meant to mirror itself.   Some of his Love Wall paintings were made into prints.  It was not unusual for Indiana to publish a print in image of a painting that was placed in a museum or private collection.  Indeed, most of Indiana’s published prints are based on those paintings that left his studio, not those that remained in his archives. “Over time, as ...paintings were bought by private collectors or public institutions, Indiana felt their loss keenly and felt that making a print of the departing canvas was a satisfying compensation.  Thus developed a pattern throughout his career of producing prints of works that were leaving his hands.” (As stated by John Wilmerding in the Foreword of “The Essential Robert Indiana” by Krause, Wilmerding, (2013) at page 19.)

When HOPE was created, a small series of Hope Walls were created in this fashion.  The Hope Wall prints were not made of four separate prints, rather the concept was laid down as a single screenprint.