"Robert Indiana: Beyond LOVE" At The Whitney Museum

Robert Indiana is most famous for his LOVE paintings, works that actually obscured more controversial themes in his art. The exhibit "Robert Indiana: Beyond LOVE" at the Whitney Museum of American Art demonstrates the full breadth of this prominent pop artist's engagement with contemporary issues. "The Red Diamond American Dream #3" (1962), left, suggests a game board or pinball machine and contains the words, "Tilt," "The American Dream" and "Winner Take All," a comment on the greed that is the undercurrent of the nation's enterprising image. A series of paintings castigates four southern states for their oppression of African Americans and brutal response to the Civil Rights Movement. Indiana has a penchant for bright colors, hard edges, geometric shapes and lettering. These elements are associated with roadside ads and are combined with trenchant commentary that indeed go "beyond love."

“Robert Indiana: Beyond Love” continues through Jan. 5, 2014, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave. at 75th St., NYC, (212)570-3600, whitney.org.