An exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York shines a new light on the work of Roy Lichtenstein, emphasizing the artist’s engagement with human perception amid the rise of digital image-making technologies. “Roy Lichtenstein: Like New,” the first major retrospective of the artist in over three decades in New York, explores his iconic use of dotted imagery—originally drawn from comic books and commercial advertising—and situates it within contemporary debates over originality, reproduction, and human creativity.
The exhibition, organized by curator Meg Onli alongside artist Alex Da Corte, presents Lichtenstein not merely as a pop art figure but as a critical observer of artistic and visual culture, whose work resonates powerfully in the age of artificial intelligence-generated images. Unlike machine-generated visuals that compile and reassemble existing images through pixel manipulation without clear authorship, Lichtenstein’s halftone dots were deliberately crafted with a tactile, human touch, underscoring a sensory awareness that resists mechanization.
Da Corte, who also contributed new works and reimagined several of Lichtenstein’s pieces, installed a prominently enlarged version of the 1963 “Girl in Window” on the Whitney’s fifth-floor terrace, where it is visible from the High Line park. This and other works within the show emphasize the artist’s engagement with replication and alteration as conceptual processes, challenging the conventional dichotomy between high and low culture. The exhibition includes a reconstructed solo debut by Lichtenstein at the Leo Castelli Gallery in 1962, featuring all eight paintings from that show, offering viewers a glimpse into how his comic book–inspired art initially confounded critics and collectors alike.
Throughout the display, curators highlight Lichtenstein’s use of the dot motif not as a mechanical reproduction but as an expression of deliberate craftsmanship. He initially created these dots by forcing pigment through aluminum screens with a toothbrush, a technique that translated the printed halftone pattern into a visible and textured element of his paintings. Later, the introduction of repeated brushstroke motifs reinforced the artist’s exploration of individuality and mass production, positioning his work as a defense of human vision amid growing industrial and technological pressures.
The show also features side-by-side comparisons of Lichtenstein’s paintings with their original comic book sources and subsequent reinterpretations by other artists, including Elaine Sturtevant, who recreated Lichtenstein’s works through a second layer of appropriation. This dialogue between originals and copies deepens the exhibition’s examination of authenticity and the evolving nature of image-making in an era increasingly defined by digital replication.
“Roy Lichtenstein: Like New” engages with themes of touch and perception, emphasizing the physicality of paint and surface as that which distinguishes human creativity from automated processes. Tactile replicas allow visitors to feel the raised pigments and textures that constitute Lichtenstein’s signature dots, reinforcing the show’s central argument about the role of human agency in art.
The exhibition reflects on how, even as digital technologies redefine the boundaries of visual culture, Lichtenstein’s work continues to assert the enduring importance of human observation and handcrafted detail. It runs through the coming months at the Whitney Museum, offering a timely reflection on the intersection of art, technology, and perception in the 21st century.