Explosion (AP), 1967

Heavily influenced by the aesthetics of advertisement and the comic strip, Roy Lichtenstein was a renowned figure of the Pop Art movement whose work often simultaneously referenced and parodied pop culture icons such as Mickey Mouse – Look Mickey is among the artist’s most notable works. Lichtenstein is recognised for his signature Ben-Day dots, a technique used in comic strips to denote gradient and texture; Oh, Jeff...I Love You, Too...But... is a tongue-in-cheek depiction of the temporary adversity often found in romance comics and just one of many works to adopt this technique - the piece is comprised of oil and magna on canvas, and as with many of his works, the title is featured in the speech bubble depicted in the painting. Lichtenstein was also celebrated for his Pop Art-style reproductions of masterpieces by such artists as Van Gogh, Cezanne and Mondrian – the artist would modernise certain aspects of the originals, as exemplified in his recreation of Van Gogh’s Bedroom In Arles. (Artist website)