Mirrors 1, 1972: Linecut and screenprint on paper

  • Roy Lichtenstein Mirror #1 (1972), featuring a circular abstract mirror composed of black, blue, linear stripes, and Ben-Day dot patterns suggesting reflective surface.
    Mirror #1, 1972
    Linecut and screenprint with embossing and collage on Arjomari paper, sheet: 71.1 x 71.1 cm
    Edition of 80; plus 10 AP, 1 RTP, 1 PPII, 3 GEL, 1 C
    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
     
    BACK TO: MIRRORS SERIES
     
    Mirror #1, 1972, presents a circular shape that reduces the idea of a mirror to abstract visual cues. The surface is divided into distinct vertical sections: a dense black field, a narrow band of blue, a series of fine linear striations, and a halftone area of Ben-Day dots. These elements suggest reflection, glare, and surface variation, yet there is no actual image being reflected. Instead, Lichtenstein constructs the illusion of a mirror through contrast, pattern, and segmentation, creating a highly controlled composition that only reads as a mirror once the viewer is told.
     
    Produced using linecut, screenprint, embossing, and collage on Arjomari paper, the work demonstrates Lichtenstein’s technical experimentation within the Mirror series. The inclusion of reflective material reinforces the concept while simultaneously emphasising its artificiality. Rather than depicting reality, Lichtenstein presents a stylised approximation of it, pushing the image to the edge of abstraction while maintaining its recognisability. 

  • "Art doesn't transform. It's just plain forms." 

     
    - Roy Lichtenstein

    Lichtenstein returned to the idea of reflection in several later series, most notably Reflections, Interiors, and Water Lilies, where he expanded the concept beyond the isolated mirror motif. In these works, reflective surfaces fragment and distort existing images, layering lines, dots, and colour bands over recognisable subjects. Rather than depicting actual reflections, Lichtenstein uses them as a device to disrupt and reframe the image, emphasising its constructed nature.