Ruscha was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He moved to Oklahoma City in 1941 and then to Los Angeles in 1956 to attend the Chouinard Art Institute. His first solo exhibition was at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1963.
Encompassing photography, drawing, painting and artist books, Ruscha’s work holds a mirror up to the banality of urban life, and gives order to the barrage of mass media-fed images and information that confront us daily. His early career as a graphic artist strongly influences the aesthetic and thematic approach.
Retrospective exhibitions of Ruscha’s work have traveled worldwide, beginning in 1983 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and subsequently to the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, and the Hirshhorn Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Ruscha was elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Art in 2001.
Cover Page of Portfolio, 1970
Medium?
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
Cover Page of Portfolio, 1970
Medium?
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
Colophon Page for Portfolio, 1970
Medium?
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
News, 1970
Background: Blackcurrant pie filling (Mortong Beacham Products, Brentford, Middlesex) over red salmon roe
(Salmonroe Products, Vancouver)
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
Mews, 1970
Background: Bolognese sauce (Pasta Products, Croydon, Surrey) lettering: Blackcurrant pie filling (Mortong Beacham Products, Brentford, Middlesex), over cherry pie filling (James Robertson Limited, Regent Street, London), over unmixed raw egg (Valley Farm Eggs Limited, Pembroke Road, Walthamstow London E17)GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
Pews, 1970
Background: Hershey's chocolate flavour syrup (Hershey Food Corporation, Pennsylvania), and Camp coffee and chicory essence (R. Patterson & Sons, Glasgow) mixed 4/6, lettering: squid ink (Valentin Puga, Vigo)
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
Brews, 1970
Lettering: axle grease (Total Limited, Hanwell, London) over caviar (Odden Caviar Limited, Sjaellands Odde, Denemark)
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
Stews, 1970
Lettering: crushed baked beans (H.J. Heinz & Company Limited, Hayes, Middlesex), caviar (Odden Caviar Limited, Sjaellands Odde, Denemark), fresh strawberries (Agrexco Limited, Israel), cherry pie filling (James Robinson Limited, Regent Street, London), mango chutney (Wilkins & Sons, Limited, Tiptree, Essex), tomato paste (Rebaudengo S.A.S. Turin) daffodils (Springfield Spalding), tulips (Pick Limited, Spalding) and leaves.
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
Dues, 1970
Background: Branston Pickle (Crosse & Blackwell Limited, Croydon, Surrey) lettering: Branston Pickle (Crosse & Blackwell Limited, Croydon, Surrey)
GIFT OF FRIEDMAN, MR. GEORGE (ACKERMAN FOUNDATION)
