Ed RuschaSex1991
1991
About the Item
- Creator:Ed Ruscha (1937, American)
- Creation Year:1991
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 44 in (111.76 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Greenwich, CT
- Reference Number:
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: Las Vegas, NV
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Free South Africa, 1985 (#2)By Keith HaringLocated in Greenwich, CTThe Free South Africa series deftly addresses the nature of South Africa's apartheid regime in Haring's unique and succinct visual language. Signed, dated, and numbered lower right e...Category
1980s Pop Art Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph, Paper
- Caucus (Leo Castelli 90th Birthday Portfolio), 1997By Robert RauschenbergLocated in Greenwich, CTCaucus is an offset lithograph on paper with an image size of 37 x 27 inches, framed in a contemporary, silver-tone frame 50.5 x 40.25 inches. From the edition of 190 - the art is si...Category
20th Century Pop Art Prints and Multiples
MaterialsPaper, Lithograph
- Pre-Morocco, 1983 (Eight by Eight)By Robert RauschenbergLocated in Greenwich, CTPre-Morocco form the Eight by Eight portfolio is a lithograph on paper with an image size of 42 x 29 inches, signed 'RAUSCHENBERG 83' and annotated 92/250 lower right. From the editi...Category
20th Century Pop Art Prints and Multiples
MaterialsPaper, Lithograph
- Mirror #9 (C.114, Mirror Series), 1972By Roy LichtensteinLocated in Greenwich, CTMirror #9 (C.114) from the Mirror Series is a screenprint and lithograph on paper, 30 x 21.18 inches, signed and dated 'rf Lichtenstein '72' lower center margin and framed in a contemporary white frame. Catalog - Corlett, The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein - A Catalogue Raisonne 1948 - 1997, Hudson Hills Press, NY and National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2002, pg.126, #114. About Lichtenstein’s Mirror Series (taken from Corlett): Mirrors were an important subject in Lichtenstein’s paintings and prints of the early 1970s. From late 1969 to 1972 he painted over forty canvases depicting this subject. The first print was in 1970, with Twin Mirrors (cat. no.102) for the Guggenheim Museum. In 1972 he also produced Mirror (cat. No. 115) at Styria Studio, in addition to this Gemini G.E.L. series of nine prints. In the mid-seventies he took up the subject in sculpture, and he returned to it in prints as recently 1990, with Mirror (cat. No 246). In addition, he has often explored the related theme of reflections, incorporating them in various paintings and in several print series: Reflections (1990; cat. Nos. 239 – 245), Interiors (1990, published 1991; cat. nos. 247 – 54), and Water Lilies (1992; cat. nos. 261 – 66). This Gemini group (catalog nos. 1-6 - 114) utilizes lithography, screenprint, line-cut, and embossing... In an interview with Lawrence Alloway, Lichtenstein noted: “You know, I am always impressed by how artificial things look – like descriptions of office furniture in newspapers. It is the most dry kind of drawing, as in the Mirrors. They really only look like mirrors if someone tells you they do. Only once you know that, they may be moved as far as possible from realism, but you want it to be taken for realism. It becomes as stylized as you can get away with, in an ordinary sense, not stylish.” As Jack Cowart has commented: “One would not actually stand in front of a Lichtenstein Mirror...Category
20th Century Pop Art Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph, Screen
- Mirror #7 (C.112), 1972By Roy LichtensteinLocated in Greenwich, CTMirror #7 (C.112) is a screenprint and lithograph on paper, 29.75 x 17.37 inches, signed and dated 'rf Lichtenstein '72' lower right and numbered 62/80 lower left. From the edition of 96 (there were also 10 AP, and 6 other various proofs). Framed in a contemporary white frame. Catalog - Corlett, The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein - A Catalogue Raisonne 1948 - 1997, Hudson Hills Press, NY and National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2002, pg.125, #112. About Lichtenstein’s Mirror...Category
20th Century Pop Art Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph, Screen
- Space BallsBy Kenny ScharfLocated in Greenwich, CTSpace Balls is a unique, trial-proof screenprint on paper, 32 x 40" sheet size, signed and numbered lower right margin ‘TP14/40 Kenny Scharf,’ and framed in a contemporary, white mou...Category
1980s Pop Art Prints and Multiples
MaterialsScreen, Paper
- Over the RainbowBy Yoshitomo NaraLocated in New York, NY2005 Set of two lithographs in colors, on wove paper Sheet: 16 1/8 x 12 1/4 in., each Edition of 100 Each signed, dated, and numbered in pencil, lower marginCategory
Early 2000s Pop Art Abstract Prints
MaterialsPaper, Lithograph
- LITHO/LITHOBy Roy LichtensteinLocated in Aventura, FLHand signed, dated and numbered by the artist. Lithograph in colors on Special Arjomari with the Gemini G.E.L. blindstamps, Los Angeles. Sheet size 35 x 48 in. Image size 28.25 x 43....Category
1970s Pop Art Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Paper
- Ben Turpin Cameo - Vintage Pop-Art 1960's Psychedelic Figurative PrintBy Peter MaxLocated in Soquel, CABen Turpin Cameo - Vintage Pop-Art 1960's Psychedelic Figurative Print Bold and bright vintage psychedelic 1960's poster of Ben Turpin Cameo #3 by Peter Max (German, b. 1937). Image size, 38"H x 24"W. Unframed. Shipped Rolled in tube. One of the most famous of all living artist's, Peter Max is a pop culture icon. His bold colors, uplifting images and an uncommon artistic diversity have touched almost every phase of American culture and has inspired many generations. Peter Max has painted for six U.S. Presidents and his art is on display in Presidential Libraries and in U.S. Embassies. Max has painted our Lady Liberty annually since America's Bicentennial and in 2000 a collage of his Liberties adorned over 145 million Verizon phone books. Max has been named an official artist of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He has also been Official Artist of 5 Super Bowls, World Cup USA, The World Series, The U.S. Open, The Indy 500, The NYC Marathon...Category
1960s Pop Art Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Paper, Ink
- NOTES (KASSEL)By Claes OldenburgLocated in Aventura, FLHand signed and numbered by the artist. Edition of 100. Sheet size 23 x 15 in. Framed. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity is included. All reasonable of...Category
1960s Pop Art Figurative Prints
MaterialsPaper, Lithograph
- Keith Haring Crack Down! 1986 (vintage program)By Keith HaringLocated in NEW YORK, NYKeith Haring crack down! 1986: Vintage original 1986 Keith Haring illustrated Crack Down! benefit program. This folding pamphlet was designed & illustrated by Keith Haring (along with a poster of same), for the 1986 "Crackdown on Crack" concert at New York City’s world...Category
1980s Pop Art Figurative Prints
MaterialsPaper, Lithograph
- Instant Nutriment #4, 1969 - Modern Pop Art Psychedelic PrintBy Peter MaxLocated in Soquel, CAInstant Nutriment #4, 1969 - Modern Pop Art Psychedelic Print A vintage psychedelic print, Instant Nutriment #4, 1969 by Peter Max (German, b. 1937). Unframed. Shipped Rolled in tube. Some edge wear to paper. Image: 36"H x 24"W One of the most famous of all living artist's, Peter Max is a pop culture icon. His bold colors, uplifting images and an uncommon artistic diversity have touched almost every phase of American culture and has inspired many generations. Peter Max has painted for six U.S. Presidents and his art is on display in Presidential Libraries and in U.S. Embassies. Max has painted our Lady Liberty annually since America's Bicentennial and in 2000 a collage of his Liberties adorned over 145 million Verizon phone books. Max has been named an official artist of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He has also been Official Artist of 5 Super Bowls, World Cup USA, The World Series, The U.S. Open, The Indy 500, The NYC Marathon...Category
1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Lithograph