Ed Ruscha
Biography
Untitled, 2023
Indisputably one of the most iconic American artists of the 20th century, Ed Ruscha has built a formidable body of work by staking a claim on the deceptively simple intersection of text and image, superimposing elliptical phrases (or, often, single words) over West Coast landscapes to create paintings that can be read instantaneously yet evade easy understanding. A pioneer of the 1960s Los Angeles art scene as part of the famed Ferus Gallery-alongside artists like Robert Irwin and Billy Al Bengston-Ruscha's embrace of Hollywood vernacular and the open Western road have tied him as closely to the identity of L.A. art as Jackson Pollock is with that of New York.
Coming to California in 1956 at the age of 18, Ruscha intended to become a commercial painter but found himself drawn to fine art, over time being shaped by three galvanizing influences: Marcel Duchamp, Pop art, and the movies. Meeting Duchamp when the Pasadena Art Museum hosted the French conceptual artist's first U.S. show, Ruscha was especially affected by his use of "readymade" objects and imagery, rendered unfamiliar through unexpected titles or text. Warhol's Campbell's Soup can paintings, meanwhile, were shown for the first time at the Ferus Gallery in 1962, opening up new vistas for Ruscha. Movies, then, provided another inspiration through their use of title cards, placing graphic text over filmic shots-"The End," for instance-for maximum impact.
Ruscha began his famous series of word paintings in the 1960s, depicting various views of the Hollywood sign and the logos of studios like 20th Century Fox, but also roadside views like the Standard Oil stations dotting L.A.'s freeways. Over time these became more abstracted, pinning ambiguous, free-floating phrases ("Wall Rockets" is a famous example) to natural vistas, scenes of highways, or monochrome backgrounds. Beginning in about 1980, the artist began using a sharp font he designed himself, called Boy Scout Utility Modern.
Coming to California in 1956 at the age of 18, Ruscha intended to become a commercial painter but found himself drawn to fine art, over time being shaped by three galvanizing influences: Marcel Duchamp, Pop art, and the movies. Meeting Duchamp when the Pasadena Art Museum hosted the French conceptual artist's first U.S. show, Ruscha was especially affected by his use of "readymade" objects and imagery, rendered unfamiliar through unexpected titles or text. Warhol's Campbell's Soup can paintings, meanwhile, were shown for the first time at the Ferus Gallery in 1962, opening up new vistas for Ruscha. Movies, then, provided another inspiration through their use of title cards, placing graphic text over filmic shots-"The End," for instance-for maximum impact.
Ruscha began his famous series of word paintings in the 1960s, depicting various views of the Hollywood sign and the logos of studios like 20th Century Fox, but also roadside views like the Standard Oil stations dotting L.A.'s freeways. Over time these became more abstracted, pinning ambiguous, free-floating phrases ("Wall Rockets" is a famous example) to natural vistas, scenes of highways, or monochrome backgrounds. Beginning in about 1980, the artist began using a sharp font he designed himself, called Boy Scout Utility Modern.
Works
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Ed RuschaUntitled, 2023Ceramic10 3/8 x 10 3/8 in
26.4 x 26.4 cmEdition of 250£ 1,950.00 -
Ed RuschaAll Eyez On Me (unsigned), 2022Giclee print and vinyl record29.2 x 29.2 cmEdition of 900£ 1,150.00
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Ed RuschaScience Is Truth Found Out, 2022Screenprint on silk130 x 130 cmEdition of 500£ 4,950.00
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Ed RuschaGal Chews Same Piece of Gum, 2021Cast bronze with hand applied patinaHeight: 14.25 inches / 36.2 cm
Width: 20 inches / 50.8 cm
Depth: 4.25 inches / 10.79 cmEdition of 40$ 85,000.00 -
Ed RuschaMysteries, 2021Hand-Pulled Twelve-Color Lithograph on Entrada Paper78.1 x 76.2 cmEdition of 75 plus 15 artist's proofs$ 65,000.00
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Ed RuschaSweet Taters, 2021Fine Bone china10.5 cm diameterEdition of 250£ 2,275.00
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Ed RuschaHe Up and Went Downtown, 2020Porcelain plate26.7 x 26.7 cmEdition of 175£ 2,500.00
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Ed RuschaCactus Omelette, 2019Screenprint on cotton71 x 67 cm£ 1,450.00
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Ed RuschaNote, 20185-Color Screenprint on Sandpaper9 × 11 inEdition of 85$ 5,500.00
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Ed RuschaHistory Kids, 2015Eight-color lithograph on paper29 x 29 in
73.7 x 73.7 cmEdition of 60$ 55,000.00 -
Ed RuschaWall Rocket, 2013Eight-color lithograph on Rives BFK paper28 3/4 x 28 inchesEdition of 60
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Ed RuschaSin, 2002Hand-Pulled Lithograph on Paper67.3 × 116.8 cmEdition of 60$ 65,000.00
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Ed RuschaMain Street, 19901-Color Lithograph8.25 × 10.25 inEdition of 250$ 5,750.00
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