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Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

American, b. 1937

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.

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Artist: Ed Ruscha
Ed Ruscha, Some Los Angeles Apartments - Artist's Book, Conceptual Art, Pop Art
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Hamburg, DE
Ed Ruscha (American, b.1937) Some Los Angeles Apartments, 1965/1970 Medium: Artist’s book (black offset printing on 100 lb. white Vicksburg Vellum text paper) Dimensions: 17.8 x 14 x...
Category

20th Century Conceptual Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

Materials

Offset

Hardback Monograph: hand signed and inscribed to ex owner of 20th Century Fox
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Ed Ruscha Ed Ruscha, Hand Signed and inscribed to Marvin Davis, former owner of 20th Century Fox, and his wife Barbara, 2000 Hardback illustrated monograph (book) with color plates. ...
Category

Early 2000s Pop Art Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

Materials

Ink, Mixed Media, Offset, Board

Every Building on the Sunset Strip, 1st Edition, Signed & inscribed w/provenance
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
“I don’t have any Seine River like Monet, I’ve just got US 66 between Oklahoma and Los Angeles.” — Ed Ruscha An example of this rare Artist Book was exhibited prominently at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for the 2023-4 Ed Ruscha retrospective. Keep scrolling right of header image to see installation photographs of that exhibit to show how MoMA displayed this accordion style book with slipcase. (the last images) This is the 1966 true 1st Edition of Ed Ruscha's groundbreaking self-published artist book "Every Building on Sunset Strip." The book itself was published in an unsigned edition of 1000. However, in 1980, exceptionally, Ruscha hand signed and beautifully inscribed this book in red ink to football legend Joe Fields. (Joseph Charles Fields Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a center and guard in the National Football League for the New York Jets and the New York Giants.) This book is also in the original slipcase. Dimensions slip case: 7 5/16 x 5 13/16 x 9/16" (18.5 x 14.7 x 1.5 cm) This historic limited edition Artists Book is in the permanent collection of the Getty Museum in California which explains its importance as follows: In the 1960s, Ed Ruscha more or less reinvented the artist’s book. By turning away from the craftsmanship and luxury status that typified the livre d’artiste in favor of the artistic idea or concept, expressed simply through photographs and text, Ruscha opened the genre to the possibilities of mass-production and distribution. The 25-foot length of the accordion-folded Every Building on the Sunset Strip affords the viewer two continuous photographic views of the mile and a half section of this landmark stretch of Sunset, one for each side of one of the city’s landmark thoroughfare. Among many other institutions, it also in the permanent collection of MOMA, which describes "Every Building on the Sunset Strip" thus: Ruscha's photography books are antithetical to the traditional limited-edition livre d'artiste, or artist's book. Their banal subject matter and documentary style are indebted to the remarkable pictures of signs and vernacular architecture that American photographer Walker Evans made in the 1930s, but their deadpan, cool aesthetic is radically different. While each book chronicles an aspect of Los Angeles or the artist's round-trip drives between LA and Oklahoma, their use of photography as a form of map-making or topographical study signals a conceptual, rather than documentary, thrust. Edward Ruscha: Editions 1959-1999, Catalogue Raisonné, Engberg, vol. 1, ppg. 84-85 and vol. 2, pg. 124, no. B4 Publisher: Dick de Ruscha...
Category

1960s Pop Art Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

Materials

Foil

Science is Truth Found Out (Red), Limited Edition signed scarf: 51.25 Sq inches
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Ed Ruscha Science is Truth Found Out (Red) Limited Edition scarf , held in bespoke box, 2022 Limited Edition 100% silk twill scarf, bearing Ruscha's authorized signature on both the ...
Category

2010s Pop Art Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

Materials

Screen, Cotton, Mixed Media, Silk

The Amazing Earth, recyclable bag, in gift box hand signed twice by Ed Ruscha
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Ed Ruscha The Amazing Earth, in gift box hand signed twice by Ed Ruscha, ca. 2017 Re-usable ocean bag created from 5 intercepted plastic bottles. In presentation box, uniquely hand s...
Category

2010s Pop Art Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

Materials

Plastic, Mixed Media

The End
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A work by Ed Ruscha. "The End" is a glass hologram set from Ed Ruscha's series "The End." "The End" paintings are “a series of canvases that portray ...
Category

Late 20th Century Post-War Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

Materials

Glass

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Basquiat Beat Bop Vinyl Record
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Basquiat Record Art: 2001 2nd pressing released in limited quantity. Beat-Bop, is a 10-minute track synthesizing various instruments and rhyming patterns, for which Basquiat produced and designed the original artwork for in 1983. Offset lithograph on double-sided record sleeve. 12 x 12 inches (30.48 x 30.48 cm). Minor shelf-wear, otherwise very good overall vintage condition. Record included in very good condition. Printed signature on reverse; from an edition of approximately 500. A very cool Basquiat frame piece if there ever was one. Further About: "Music, and jazz in particular, was crucial to Basquiat’s work. His art offered a vibrant visual counterpart to the emphasis on improvisation, non-linear structure and sampling in jazz. Basquiat’s paintings frequently celebrated his favourite jazz heroes, such as Charlie Parker, in much the same way that he paid artistic tribute to famous athletes, boxers and other personal icons, many of whom struggled to gain the recognition of their white counterparts. Equally key for Basquiat was hip-hop, the emergence of which paralleled Basquiat’s own artistic rise. In 1981, he made a cameo appearance as a DJ in the video for Blondie's chart-topping single, Rapture — the first rap video ever broadcast on MTV. He also produced a legendary hip-hop record, Beat Bop, a rap battle between MCs K-Rob and Rammellzee, illustrated with Basquiat’s own art. With original copies extremely rare, it has become one of the most sought-after rap records ever made." (Source: Christie's May 2017). Beat Bop was also exhibited as part of Basquiat retrospective Boom For Real at the Barbican in London. Related Categories Rammellzee. Basquiat Hip Hop. The Offs. Downtown 81. Samo. Tartown. Basquiat Beat Bop.
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Sunrise
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Sunrise
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Basquiat The Offs 1984: "The Offs: First Record" original first printing, 1984 featuring original offset artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Difficult to find in good condition with al...
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Previously Available Items
Ed Ruscha, I Can't Find My Keys Nowhere - Porcelain Plate
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21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Ed Ruscha Mixed Media

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Three Quarters of What
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Ed Ruscha mixed media for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Ed Ruscha mixed media available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of mixed media to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ed Ruscha in offset print, mixed media, board and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the Pop Art style. Not every interior allows for large Ed Ruscha mixed media, so small editions measuring 6 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of John Grande, Yayoi Kusama, and Tom Wesselmann. Ed Ruscha mixed media prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,666 and tops out at $180,000, while the average work can sell for $2,887.
Questions About Ed Ruscha Mixed Media
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Ed Ruscha is a multi-medium contemporary artist who has widely been hailed as an important player in the Pop Art movement. You can shop a selection of Ed Ruscha’s pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Ed Ruscha is famous for his text paintings made during the 1960s. The American conceptual and Pop art artist was born on December 16, 1937, in Omaha, Nebraska. On 1stDibs, you can shop a collection of Ed Ruscha textual art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 27, 2024
    Ed Ruscha's art style is Pop art. He is especially well known for elevating words and signage into works of art. 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 abstract, with ambiguous, free-floating phrases pinned to natural vistas, scenes of highways and monochrome backgrounds. Shop a variety of Ed Ruscha art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Yes, Ed Ruscha is a conceptual artist. His work also shows elements of Pop art. However, the artist does not associate his own work with either movement. He is well known for his text paintings first produced during the 1960s. Find a variety of Ed Ruscha on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Ed Ruscha made his well-known collage art by combining words and images from advertisements and other pieces of media. He often incorporated found items and unconventional materials like blood, liquid medicine and food. You'll find a selection of Ed Ruscha art on 1stDibs.

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