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
$7,250
H 46 in W 30 in D 2 in
"Dancing with" Abstract Acrylic on Linen Painting 46" x 30" inch by Hossam Dirar
By Hossam Dirar
Located in Culver City, CA
"Dancing with" Abstract Acrylic on Linen Painting 46" x 30" inch by Hossam Dirar "Dancing with" (2016) by Hossam Dirar 46” x 30” Mixed media on linen canvas CHAOS This project i...
Canvas, Oil, Linen
"Blossom" Abstract Painting 35" x 55" inch by Carole Baines
By Carole Baines
Located in Culver City, CA
"Blossom" Abstract Painting 35" x 55" inch by Carole Baines Pollination and bush fruits in spring time. Carole Baines is a self-taught, London-born artist based between Townsville ...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Blue Grey
By Philippe Hosiasson
Located in Austin, TX
Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right and verso, titled verso. 39.25 x 31.75 in. 40.25 x 32.75 in. (f...
Canvas, Oil
$2,790
H 98.82 in W 78.75 in D 0.4 in
Abstract Oilpainting on canvas for sale - unique by Frank Vaders
By Frank Vaders
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This painting by Frank Vaders is a unique piece from the 1990s, made in oil on canvas with the dimensions 251 × 200 cm. It is in good condition. Vaders' works have been offered at au...
Canvas, Oil
$2,790
H 98.82 in W 78.75 in D 0.4 in
Abstract Oilpainting on canvas for sale unique by Frank Vaders
By Frank Vaders
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This painting by Frank Vaders is a unique piece from the 1990s, made in oil on canvas with the dimensions 251 × 200 cm. It is in good condition. Vaders' works have been offered at au...
Canvas, Oil
$7,000
H 51 in W 83 in
"Calypso II" Abstract Painting 51" x 83" inch by Carole Baines
By Carole Baines
Located in Culver City, CA
"Calypso II" Abstract Painting 51" x 83" inch by Carole Baines Carole Baines is a self-taught, London-born artist based between Townsville and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Carol...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Green Burst
Located in Austin, TX
Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Kyle Morris Green Burst, 1958 Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right; signed, titled, dated verso. 48...
Canvas, Oil
$2,790
H 98.82 in W 78.75 in D 0.4 in
Abstract Oilpainting on canvas for sale - unique by Frank Vaders
By Frank Vaders
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This painting by Frank Vaders is a unique piece from the 1990s, made in oil on canvas with the dimensions 251 × 200 cm. It is in good condition. Vaders' works have been offered at au...
Canvas, Oil
$6,394
H 78.75 in W 63 in D 0.79 in
Nebula inspiration. Contemporary oil abstract Polish Young Artist, Big format
By Klaudia Lata
Located in Warsaw, PL
Big scale abstract oil painting by Polish artist Klaudia Lata. KLAUDIA LATA (born in 1993) Graduate of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. Diploma in 2017 in the stud...
Canvas, Oil
$2,790
H 98.82 in W 78.75 in D 0.4 in
Abstract Oilpainting on canvas for sale - unique by Frank Vaders
By Frank Vaders
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This painting by Frank Vaders is a unique piece from the 1990s, made in oil on canvas with the dimensions 251 × 200 cm. It is in good condition. Vaders' works have been offered at au...
Canvas, Oil
Oil painting impasto double portrait love hate
By Michael Pemberton
Located in London, GB
In this collection, British painter Michael Pemberton (b. 1974) suggests we each have a personal HUMAN ATMOSPHERE. An ether where we truly exist, unseen by the naked eye but as real ...
Canvas, Oil
$3,487
H 35.44 in W 47.25 in D 0.79 in
Flow. Contemporary oil abstract Polish Young Artist
By Klaudia Lata
Located in Warsaw, PL
KLAUDIA LATA (born in 1993) Graduate of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. Diploma in 2017 in the studio of prof. Ireneusz Walczak. Scholarship holder of the Ministr...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 22.75 in W 40 in
Rouge Pad (State 2), Limited Edition Etching & Aquatint, James Rosenquist
By James Rosenquist
Located in Southampton, NY
JAMES ROSENQUIST (1933-2017) A leader and highly recognized pop artist, Rosenquist used the techniques in his work that he learned as a commercial billboard painter. This was perfect...
Etching, Aquatint