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.
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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
$3,236
H 31.5 in W 23.63 in D 2.37 in
Untitled 01 - Contemporary, Organic, Black, Minimalist, Abstract, Monochrome
By Zsolt Berszán
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Untitled 01, 2017 Black adhesive and black oil on canvas (Signed on reverse) 31 1/2 H x 23 5/8 H in. 80 H x 60 W cm Zsolt Berszán treats the first layer of the drawing as a substrat...
Canvas, Adhesive, Oil
$2,658
H 39.38 in W 51.19 in D 1.19 in
Finding your Embrace - Contemporary geometric abstraction - Oil Painting
By Lilly Muth
Located in DE
Lilly Muth's geometric abstractions are colourful works full figures that of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Her use of colour is bold yet ...
Canvas, Oil
$950
H 19.75 in W 19.75 in
Bronzed Skyline: Contemporary abstract expressionist oil painting
By Patricia McParlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
Mixed Media on canvas
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$2,800
H 50.5 in W 38.5 in D 1.5 in
Abstract Composition in Maroon, Contemporary Oil on Canvas, Signed
By Robert O'Meara
Located in Astoria, NY
Robert O'Meara (American, 1957-2024), Abstract Composition in Maroon and Viridian, Oil on Canvas, signed to verso, in wood frame. Image: 50" H x 38" W; frame: 50.5" H x 38.5" W. ...
Canvas, Oil
Fuchsia Reflections 69 X 86
By Antonio Ugarte
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
About the Artist Antonio Ugarte (b. 1961, Valencia, Venezuela; lives and works in Miami, FL) Antonio Ugarte began his artistic career in Venezuela, where he studied drawing, painting...
Canvas, Oil
$1,000
H 20 in W 16 in D 1 in
"Vogue, Vespa, Flowers" Figure with Chanel NYC Oil Painting on Canvas
By Cindy Shaoul
Located in New York, NY
Exploring the purity of the feminine form and the drama of French haute couture, artist Cindy Shaoul creates a dialogue between the figurative and the abstract. Her spirited composit...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
$1,400
H 18.5 in W 18.5 in D 1.25 in
"Open Window", Abstract, Yellow, Red, Pink, Blue, Green, Oil Painting
By Patricia Crotty
Located in Franklin, MA
Patricia Crotty’s “Open Window” is a brightly colored 18 x 18 inch abstract oil painting on canvas. Vibrant gestural strokes of yellow, red, pink, blue, and green float and form shap...
Canvas, Oil
$2,800
H 60 in W 54 in D 2 in
Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting on Canvas, Late 20th Century
By Andy Miller
Located in Astoria, NY
Andy Miller (American, b. 1950), Abstract Composition, Oil on Canvas, impasto details, deep pine green with blue undertones, with artist's studio stamp to verso, apparently unsigned,...
Canvas, Oil
$2,350
H 24 in W 18 in D 1 in
Abstract Composition Diptych, Contemporary Oil on Canvas
By Robert O'Meara
Located in Astoria, NY
Robert O'Meara (American, XX-XXI), Abstract Composition Diptych, Oil on Board, apparently unsigned, unframed. 24" H x 18" W. Provenance: From a 333 East 75th Street Estate.
Canvas, Oil
$10,000
H 19 in W 23 in D 2.5 in
Norman Carton, abstract cityscape, unique oil painting hand signed twice, Framed
By Norman Carton
Located in New York, NY
Norman Carton Mid Century Modern Cityscape, ca. 1951 Oil on canvas painting (signed twice) Signed twice: hand signed on the front and also signed on the back Unique Frame included: T...
Canvas, Oil
$9,700
H 42 in W 40 in
colorful contemporary abstract oil painting expressionist busy signed
By Alayna Rose
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Always Dancing" is an abstract oil on canvas painting by Alayna Rose. Like the works of abstract expressionist Cy Twombly, Rose uses explosive lines and an extensive palette to capt...
Canvas, Oil
$6,500
H 22.75 in W 26.75 in D 1.25 in
Early Modern Orange, Blue, and Yellow Toned Abstract City Landscape Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Early modern colorful abstract city landscape by American artist Richard W. Dempsey. The work features a heavily abstracted street scene of the front of a building with a white door ...
Oil, Canvas