1970s Corita I Love You Very Much

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Corita Kent (1918–1986)
I Love You Very Much, 1978
Offset lithograph on paper
Published by Muirhead Galleries, Costa Mesa, California
… Read more Corita Kent (1918–1986)
I Love You Very Much, 1978
Offset lithograph on paper
Published by Muirhead Galleries, Costa Mesa, California
Printed by Haddad’s Fine Art Inc., Anaheim, California
Unnumbered limited edition
Printed in the United States

This vibrant offset lithograph, I Love You Very Much (1978), exemplifies Corita Kent’s enduring commitment to art as a vehicle for compassion, optimism, and social change. Published by Muirhead Galleries in Costa Mesa, California, and printed by Haddad’s Fine Art Inc., Anaheim, this unnumbered limited-edition poster was issued on the occasion of Kent’s 1978 exhibition.
Corita Kent—artist, educator, and activist—emerged as one of the most distinctive voices in postwar American art. Having entered the religious order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the age of eighteen, she later became chair of the art department at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. There, her teaching methods transformed the department into a nexus of avant-garde creativity, attracting notable figures such as John Cage, Saul Bass, Alfred Hitchcock, and Charles and Ray Eames.
Inspired by the works of Andy Warhol and the broader Pop Art movement, Kent reimagined the visual language of contemporary advertising, product packaging, and mass media. Her art translated the idioms of popular culture into bold affirmations of love, faith, and social justice. By integrating commercial typography, vibrant color fields, and fragments of text—from song lyrics to scripture—she gave visual form to the revolutionary optimism of the 1960s and 1970s.
In I Love You Very Much, Kent’s use of direct language and radiant color transforms a simple declaration into an emblem of universal connection. The work embodies her belief that art could serve as an instrument of healing and unity in a time of profound social transformation.

Provenance:
Published by Muirhead Galleries, Costa Mesa, California, 1978.
Exhibition:
Issued on the occasion of the exhibition of Corita Kent’s work at Muirhead Galleries, Costa Mesa, California, 1978. See less