In Memory of Robert Indiana

Asia Society Hong Kong Center is deeply saddened to learn of Robert Indiana’s passing on May 19, 2018 at his home in Maine. Our current exhibition LOVE Long: Robert Indiana and Asia presents some of his most memorable works, including some of his iconic LOVE sculptures. We had hoped to use the exhibition to honor and celebrate his 90th birthday which would have been September 13 this year. His prolific career of over sixty years, through which he explored the power of language to shape the American Dream, will live on in our hearts and minds. We are greatly honored to be able to present his first major exhibition in Hong Kong with 25 works with the help of guest curator Miwako Tezuka and the Morgan Art Foundation.

In addition, Asia Society Hong Kong Center invites the public to our July 6th memorial screening of A Visit to the Star of Hope: Conversations with Robert Indiana to pay homage to Robert Indiana, the star of our current exhibition LOVE Long: Robert Indiana and Asia. Buy tickets here.
 

Robert Indiana (1928-2018) was a leading American postwar artist who championed the written word in art. A self-proclaimed “painter of signs”, Indiana employed the graphic vernacular of signage to create mystifying narratives about love, death and The American Dream. Born ‘Robert Clark’ in Newcastle, Indiana, he had a peripatetic childhood before moving to New York City in 1954. Renaming himself “Robert Indiana” in 1958 marked a pivotal point in his artistic career. His work has since been shown in major institutions internationally and is the subject of several monographs. In 1978, he permanently relocated to Vinalhaven, Maine, where he lived until his death on May 19, 2018. From the canons of modern American literature to highway culture, Indiana drew upon a vast lexicon of symbols and signs to create a highly unique visual language. His legacy lives on through his many LOVE sculptures in cities all over the world.

Tributes from the Curators of LOVE Long:  Robert Indiana and Asia

RTHK The Works, May 30, 2018
Robert Indiana - A pioneer of assemblage, hard-edged abstraction and pop art
https://www.facebook.com/RTHKTheWorks/videos/1866369556720312/

iCable TV News, May 24, 2018
A look back at the work and life of the late Robert Indiana
https://www.facebook.com/icablenews/videos/852863908239012/

Washington Post, May 23, 2018
Robert Indiana, artist who created ubiquitous LOVE image, dies at 89
https://wapo.st/2s3hZKW

New York Times, May 21, 2018
Robert Indiana, 89, Who Turned ‘Love’ Into Enduring Art, Is Dead
https://nyti.ms/2IYLvLn

Art News, May 22, 2018
Robert Indiana, Pop Purveyor of Love, Hope, and American Darkness, Dies at 89
https://bit.ly/2x85DpG