Ed Ruscha, Wolverhampton

About

The Los Angeles-based artist Ed Ruscha is one of the most consistently inventive American artists of the last fifty years. Ruscha’s work explores his fascination with the enigmatic power of language, and is heavily influence by the glossy, democratic, sun-kissed culture of the American West Coast in the second half of the twentieth century. His art is often compared to pop and conceptual art but nonetheless escapes easy categorisation. His influence extends beyond painting into the publication of artists' books, of which format Ruscha was a contemporary pioneer.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery's presentation of early drawings and key paintings provided a representative snapshot of the series made by the artist from the 1960s through to 2005. Highlights include the early typographic work Honk 1962 and The Music from the Balconies 1984, a major oil painting presented to the ARTIST ROOMS collection by the artist in 2009. The exhibition was conceived as a part of Wolverhampton’s programme of exhibiting works by major artists associated with the pop art movement.