LOVE IS IN THE AIR is the title of a special chapter within our art auction in the spring of 2024. It features selected objects from a private collection, all of which deal with the theme of love and also express this in a visual way.
As shown in the ‘The Love Ring’ from 1969, almost every lot in the collection bears the lettering ‘LOVE’, coined by Robert Indiana in the early 1960s. The ring, in its original box and case, comes from a limited edition by Charles Revson, New York, and provides the giver with the opportunity to literally present their love.
In the mid-1950s, Robert Clark went in search of materials for his assemblages, which consisted of found objects such as rusted metal parts or pieces of wood, in his adopted home on Manhattan’s south-eastern harbor. By using the stencil technique on his assemblages, short, expressive words found their way into his art for the first time. Despite the move, the artist remained deeply attached to his native Indiana, as evidenced by his adoption of the pseudonym ‘Robert Indiana’ in 1954. In addition, his preference for Americana and the meaningfulness of simple words becomes clear once again. From this time onwards, Indiana primarily created freestanding sculptures and paintings with colorful numbers and catchphrases as their theme. The artist executed the motifs as two-dimensional hard-edge paintings (similar to color field painting) and reduced them to their basic colors, which became his signature. Through his participation in numerous exhibitions in New York, Indiana became a sought-after artist who devoted his works to critical political and social themes expressed through concise texts, symbols and figures. The catchphrase ‘LOVE’ came about when the Museum of Modern Art in New York commissioned Indiana to design a Christmas card. However, the artist lost the rights to market the lettering, as the card bore the copyright notice of the museum and not the one of the artist. As a result, LOVE spread worldwide and in countless media such as prints, sculptures, rings and stamps and became the epitome of a pop art motif.
French fashion brand LONGCHAMP has launched a small special collection in 2023 in honor of Indiana and as a tribute to his LOVE-artworks. The fashion label adapted Indiana’s original works onto accessories, garments and handbags, such as the XS version of the “Le Pliage®” shown here. The handbag is accompanied by the matching key fob and the red LOVE sculpture (authorized replica) after Indiana, which was published jointly by the Morgan Art Foundation and the Artist Rights Society for the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2011.
In the area of home accessories, the collection also has something for everyone who likes to surround themselves with love: Two lots of two each of the rugs ‘Classic Love’, 2007 and ‘Liebe Love’, 2005, both made under the supervision of John Gilbert and issued as a numbered edition by Galerie-F, Kranenburg.
Enchant your loved one with small or large gifts that also have collector’s value.
