Ed RuschaSelf Service, Milan, New Mexico1962/1989
1962/1989
About the Item
- Creator:Ed Ruscha (1937, American)
- Creation Year:1962/1989
- Medium:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: G13051727285
Ed Ruscha
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 prints and paintings that can be read instantaneously yet evade easy understanding.
Alongside artists like Robert Irwin and Billy Al Bengston, Ruscha was a pioneer of the 1960s Los Angeles art scene as part of the famed Ferus Gallery. His 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 to 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 (now the Norton Simon 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. Andy 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.
A master printmaker who also works across the mediums of books, drawing, photography and even film — in 2009 he starred in a movie directed by the artist Doug Aitken — Ruscha has been an influence on a staggering array of artists, including Stephen Shore, Christopher Wool and Anselm Kiefer.
Ruscha's work has been featured in dozens of exhibitions around the world, including "Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting" at London's Hayward Gallery (2009), "Ed Ruscha: Made in Los Angeles" at Madrid's Reina Sofia in 2002, a 2000 retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, a survey of his works-on-paper at the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1998, and a 1982 retrospective that traveled to the Whitney Museum. In 2005 he represented the United States at the 51st Venice Biennale, and in 2009 he received a National Arts Award.
Find a collection of original Ed Ruscha lithographs and other art for sale on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Fortress of Solitude, AntarcticaBy Sebastião SalgadoLocated in New York, NYfrom the series GenesisMaterials
Silver Gelatin
- Case Study House #22 by Pierre Koenig, Los Angeles, CABy Julius ShulmanLocated in New York, NYMaterials
Silver Gelatin
- Untitled #134By Masao YamamotoLocated in New York, NYFrom "Box of Ku"Materials
Silver Gelatin
- Churchgate Station, Bombay, IndiaBy Sebastião SalgadoLocated in New York, NYfrom the series GenesisMaterials
Silver Gelatin
- Untitled #1610, from the series "Kawa = Flow"By Masao YamamotoLocated in New York, NYMaterials
Silver Gelatin
- Rockaway, Queens 2014By Mitch EpsteinLocated in New York, NY68 x 54 inch gelatin silver print Edition of 6 Also available as: 40 x 30 inch gelatin silver print Edition of 6Materials
Silver Gelatin
- White Copse, Study 4, Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan, black and white photographBy Michael KennaLocated in Sante Fe, NMWhite Copse, Study 4, Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan is a black and white (silver gelatin) photograph by Michael Kenna. Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for c...Category
2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Wanaka Lake Tree, Study 2, Otafo, New Zealand, black and white photographBy Michael KennaLocated in Sante Fe, NMWanaka Lake Tree, Study 2, Otafo, New Zealand is a black and white photograph by Michael Kenna. The (silver gelatin) print is signed and numbered. Michael Kenna is master of cont...Category
2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- 'Derby Spectator' Limited Edition Oversize Silver Gelatin PrintLocated in London, GBDerby Spectator A spectator looking through binoculars at the Derby horse races, Epsom, Surrey, June 1923. (Photo by Hulton / Getty Archive) Silver gelatin fibre print 20 x 24" p...Category
1920s Modern Figurative Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Young Competitors (1925) - Silver Gelatin Fibre PrintLocated in London, GBYoung Competitors (1925) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print (Photo by MacGregor/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) 11th August 1925 Three young competitors arriving at the courts for th...Category
1920s Modern Figurative Photography
MaterialsBlack and White, Silver Gelatin
- ' The Wet Set ' Oversize Limited Edition - Victoria and Albert Museum LondonBy John FrenchLocated in London, GB' The Wet Set ' Oversize Limited Edition Print 1963 - Victoria and Albert Museum, London By John French The Wet Set, John French (1907-66), London, 1963 © Victoria and Albert Museu...Category
1960s Modern Figurative Photography
MaterialsBlack and White, Silver Gelatin
- 'Strapless Shrimp' V&A Portfolio Fashion Photography Limited Edition printBy John FrenchLocated in London, GB'Strapless Shrimp' V & A Portfolio Limited Edition print Jean Shrimpton modelling jewellery for ‘Voice & Vision’, John French (1907-66), London, 1963 © Victoria and Alber...Category
1960s Modern Figurative Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin