Richard Lindner

Painter Richard Lindner’s highly idiosyncratic work incorporates elements of his personal history, as well as literary associations. The element of introspection separates his work from pop art.

He used flat areas of rich, sometimes garish, colors separated by hard edges, to present ambiguous perspective. He modeled clothing, faces and body parts.

His favorite subject was bizarre women. Corsets and straps emphasize their sexual qualities. Lindner professed no hatred of women; instead, he said, “I feel sorry for women. When I dress women in these corsets and contraptions in my painting, it’s kind of the way I see them wrapping themselves up.”

His painting ‘Ice’ 1966 (Whitney Museum of American Art) established a connection between the metaphysical tradition and pop art. The painting shows harsh, flat geometric shapes framing an erotic but mechanical robot-woman.