Although he insisted that he and his fellow Pop artists developed their art-making styles independently, American painter James Rosenquist belonged at the table with Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
Known for his distinctive use of visual montage, Rosenquist produced large, vibrantly colored tableaux marked by fragmentation and overlap. He often employed familiar motifs and objects drawn from popular contemporary culture — hot dogs, lipstick tubes, American flags — which he manipulated to form disorienting compositions whose constituent elements are nearly unrecognizable.
Born in North Dakota to Swedish parents, Rosenquist was encouraged to pursue painting by his mother, who was also an artist. He studied painting for two years at the University of Minnesota, but dropped out at the age of 21 to attend the Art Students League in New York on a scholarship. A job as a billboard painter in the late 1950s set him up to pursue his signature style, which borrowed its bold graphics and remixed kitschy aesthetic from the visual vocabulary of advertising. Works like Flamingo Capsule (1983) embody his trademark visual dissonance, drawing cigarette-ad motifs into conversation with stripes from the American flag and aluminum foil wrappers.
In addition to enormous paintings, Rosenquist created drawings, prints and collages. The 2011 lithograph The Memory Continues but the Clock Disappears is a montage of melting clocks and confetti, all submerged in a pool of water. While wryly hinting at the inevitability of decay and deterioration — suggesting that life is a ticking clock — the composition also alludes to Salvador Dalí's signature motif, the defining symbol of Surrealism. Such compositions demonstrate how Rosenquist masterfully combined seemingly incongruous elements into a harmonious and poetic whole.
Find James Rosenquist art today on 1stDibs.
Flowers Before the Sun - Large Scale Abstract Oil on Canvas, 1989
By James Rosenquist
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Flowers Before the Sun, a monumental 1989 oil on canvas by James Rosenquist, stands out as a pinnacle of his 1980s floral series, weaving vibrant botanical forms with faint human tra...
Canvas, Oil
$11,737
H 36 in W 36 in D 2 in
Blue Yonder-Monroe Hodder, American, Abstract, Bold, Modern, Red, Blue, Oil
By Monroe Hodder
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Blue Yonder is an original oil over acrylic on canvas painting by American artist Monroe Hodder. Hodder’s abstract paintings are gloriously bold. Inspired by the urban backdrops of h...
Oil, Canvas, Acrylic
$6,165
H 35.04 in W 45.67 in D 1.97 in
Off fields #3 Hélène Duclos 21st Century painting abstract landscape cream art
By Hélène Duclos
Located in Paris, FR
This painting is part of the current exhibition entitled "The fantastic story of the liquid mountain" at Claire Corcia Gallery in Paris. The liquid mountain is populated by living b...
Canvas, Oil
$17,261
H 60 in W 60 in D 2 in
River In The Sea-Monroe Hodder, American, Abstract, Bold, Modern, sea, Blue, Oil
By Monroe Hodder
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
River In The Sea is an oil on canvas painting by American artist Monroe Hodder. Hodder’s abstract paintings are gloriously bold. Inspired by the urban backdrops of her life in New Yo...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$6,521
H 37.01 in W 32.68 in D 1.97 in
Bursts Yankel Contemporary painting abstract art blue colour red geometrical
By Jacques Yankel
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint on canvas Hand-signed lower right by the artist
Canvas, Oil
$4,387
H 59.06 in W 59.06 in D 0.79 in
COWARD - Contemporary Modern Abstract Painting
By Agata Czeremuszkin-Chrut
Located in Hallein, AT
Agata Czeremuszkin-Chrut was born in 1983 in Czestochowa, Poland. She graduated from the Academy of the Fine Arts in Wroclaw (2008) with the Master degree in Painting. In 2007 she st...
Canvas, Oil
$5,810
H 23.63 in W 23.63 in
Dynamic Abstract Composition in Orange and Black Modern Oil Painting
By Jean Soyer
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
A powerful abstract oil painting on canvas (24x24 inches) by contemporary artist Jean Soyer. The composition features bold black brushstrokes against a warm orange background, create...
Canvas, Oil
$9,711
H 39.38 in W 31.89 in
Dynamic Abstract Red and Blue Lyrical Composition Modern Oil Painting
By Jean Soyer
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Dramatic abstract oil painting on canvas (39.4 x 31.9 inches) by Jean Soyer, featuring bold sweeping strokes in red, blue, and black. The artwork showcases distinctive textural eleme...
Canvas, Oil
$4,382
H 59.06 in W 59.06 in D 0.79 in
Rose Sheet / Red Pillow - Contemporary Modern Abstract Painting
By Agata Czeremuszkin-Chrut
Located in Hallein, AT
Agata Czeremuszkin-Chrut was born in 1983 in Czestochowa, Poland. She graduated from the Academy of the Fine Arts in Wroclaw (2008) with the Master degree in Painting. In 2007 she st...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$5,810
H 36.23 in W 25.6 in D 1.97 in
Imbriglio and revelation Louis-Paul Ordonneau Contemporary painting abstract art
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint on canvas Hand-signed by the artist on the back Louis-Paul Ordonneau is a French painter born in 1975. He lives and works in Paris. In 1999, he set up his studio in tempo...
Canvas, Oil
$4,387
H 59.06 in W 59.06 in D 0.79 in
DREAM - Contemporary Modern Abstract Painting
By Agata Czeremuszkin-Chrut
Located in Hallein, AT
Agata Czeremuszkin-Chrut was born in 1983 in Czestochowa, Poland. She graduated from the Academy of the Fine Arts in Wroclaw (2008) with the Master degree in Painting. In 2007 she st...
Canvas, Oil
$1,944
H 38.19 in W 29.14 in D 1.38 in
First Snowfall - 21st Century, Oil painting, gold leaf, abstract, winter
By Chelsea Davine
Located in Barcelona, Catalonia
Chelsea Davine has used her signature technique to create "Komorebi II", oil and gold leaf on canvas. For centuries, artisans and artists have turned to gold leaf as a way to make th...
Gold Leaf
$6,047
H 25.6 in W 25.6 in
Dramatic Red Abstract Oil Painting: Symphony in Scarlet and Black
By Jean Soyer
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
A striking abstract painting by Jean Soyer featuring dynamic compositions in vivid crimson and black. This 25.6 x 25.6 inch oil on canvas showcases Soyer's signature technique of usi...
Canvas, Oil