Imperfect painting 1986

Roy Lichtenstein made this painting, using oil and magna on canvas. The title, *Imperfect Painting*, might refer to the wonky lines and the almost clashing colours. But, you know, what is imperfection in art anyway? It’s an idea! This painting, it feels so flat, so graphic, that it's almost like looking at a screen print, despite being made using oil paint. There’s a real sense of the hand in it, despite that, with all these ruled lines and flat planes of colour. Take for example that triangle of pink in the lower right. The colour is so solid, almost like plastic! Lichtenstein’s play with surface and depth reminds me a bit of Frank Stella, another one of those mid-century experimenters with flatness. It makes you question how we see, and how we understand our relationship to the image. Isn’t that fun?