The Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery in Seoul presented the most prominent period in the career of James Rosenquist, who in the 1960s became one of the most influential American artists of his generation. Back.

“ I painted the things that needed to be painted. ” With “Dream World: Paintings, Drawings and Collages, 1961–1968,” the Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery in Seoul immersed us in the pivotal years of James Rosenquist (1933–2017), a leading figure in modern and pop art, alongside Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition brought together the foundational works of this North Dakota native, showcasing his billboard-like paintings, his collage-style prints, and his preparatory sketches, which shaped his “idiosyncratic visual vocabulary.”

MONUMENTAL AND COUNTER-CULTURAL

The space notably featured the work for which he gained international recognition and which joined the MoMA's permanent collection: F-111 (1964-1965). This 26-meter-long canvas, created for his first solo exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York, comprises 59 interlocking panels, defined by the four walls of the space. It depicts an F-111 fighter-bomber, then under development by the U.S. military. The aircraft is enveloped in photographic and advertising images, blending floral motifs, wallpaper, a Firestone tire, a fork stuck in spaghetti, and a beach umbrella superimposed on an atomic explosion. This monumental creation, considered by many to be a pacifist work, echoed the military-industrial complex upon which North American consumer society was based.

The same is true of Playmate (1966), which was exhibited here for the first time in fifteen years. This large-format canvas equally evokes the zeitgeist of the era, shattering the clichés of women's representation in consumer culture. The artist, who became a father in 1964, drew inspiration from the image of the pregnant woman, playfully inverting the dynamics of male viewer desire. He constructs and deconstructs the composition to tell a far more complex story about " the various manifestations of female desire ."

The exhibition also brought to light James Rosenquist's political and social engagement as a fervent advocate of civil rights and progressive ideals in the 1960s. This important dimension permeates his work throughout his career. Examples include Daley Portrait (1968), depicting Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, known for his violent handling of the 1968 Chicago riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and Bedspring (1962), considered his most radical painting at the time of its creation. Both works are painted on strips of Mylar, an innovative polyester material.

FRAGMENT AND RECOMPOSE

During this decade, this master of Pop Art incorporated Surrealist elements, experimented with Abstract Expressionism, explored themes of nature and technology, and manipulated various techniques. He also quickly began questioning the very essence of the pictorial plane by incorporating real objects, as in Paramus (1966). In this collage of existing images, Rosenquist paints, superimposes, and transforms his imagery into strange juxtapositions. He offers a similar perspective with Source for the Promenade of Merce Cunningham (1963), presenting a montage of images and advertisements torn from magazines.

The work *Source and Preparatory Sketch for The Light That Won't Fail I* (1961) consists of preparatory sketches for his painting of the same name, now in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington. As for the four *Studies for Horse Blinders* (1968), these works express his sense of color and his interest in constantly creating his own references.

James Rosenquist, inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2001, has reinvented popular imagery in his pictorial universe, creating his own space to comment on politics, science, art, and history for a broad audience. In his multidimensional work, he continually merged his personal world with global political concerns – the power of the military-industrial complex, the destruction of our environment, and human rights for all races and genders. " said his wife, Mimi Thompson Rosenquist.

“DREAM WORLD: PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND COLLAGES, 1961-1968”
THADDAEUS ROPAC GALLERY / SEOUL FORT HILL
1-2F, 122-1 DOKSEODANG-RO, YONGSAN-GU, SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA)
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