ED RUSCHA
Overview
Ed Ruscha is widely regarded as one of the world’s most important artists with a career spanning six decades from the early 1960s until the present day.
He became well known in the late 1950s when he began making small collages using images and words taken from everyday sources such as advertisements. This interest in the everyday led to him using the cityscape of his adopted hometown Los Angeles – a source of inspiration he has returned to again and again. Ruscha often combines images of the city with words and phrases from everyday language to communicate a particular urban experience. He also explores the banality of modern urban life and the barrage of mass media-fed images and information that confronts us daily.
His use of the imagery and techniques seen in commercial art such as advertising and his interest in popular culture and the everyday, connects him directly with pop art. Ruscha was also very influential to the development of conceptual art through his depiction of words and phrases, and his books of deadpan photographs characterised by their low-key humour.
We are pleased to offer a comprehensive selection of his seminal 70s publications on Los Angeles and Southern California’s landscapes, all vintage signed copies in pristine condition.
Featured Exhibitions
Edward Ruscha (Ed-werd Rew-shay) Young Artist, 1972
Hardback book
11.2 x 9.1 x 3.2 cm
Published by Chester Gump, Silver Creek Ranch, to accompany the exhibition ‘Prints, Drawings and Books of Edward Ruscha’ at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1972
Second hand book from the first and only edition of 2000
Hard Light, 1978
Paperback book
Signed
17.6 x 12.5 cm
Produced by E. Ruscha and L. Weiner in Los Angeles. Only edition
A fine copy, signed on front free endpaper. Soft covers
Royal Road Test, 1980
Paperback book
Signed
23.6 x 15.7 cm
Published in 1980 by Heavy Industry Publications, LA. 4th edition. Limited to 1500 copies
Spiral binding. Front cover type a little scuffed, signed on front free endpaper
Thirtyfour parking lots in Los Angeles, 1974
Paperback book
Signed
25.4 x 20.2 cm
Self-published Second edition
Very good copy. Soft covers. Top corner of front cover a little creased, some light rubbing. Signed on page one
Crackers, 1969
Paperback book
22 x 14.9 x 1 cm
Published in 1969 by Heavy Industry Publications, LA
Soft covers. Limited to 5000 copies
Colored People, 1972
Paperback book
17.6 x 13.9 x 0.5 cm
Self-published by Ruscha in Los Angeles, CA
A fine copy. Soft covers, minimal wear
Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass, 1976
Paperback book
Signed
17.6 x 13.8 x 0.5 cm
Self-published in Los Angeles, 1976. 2nd edition. Limited to 2000 copies
Soft covers. Fine copy signed on front free endpaper
Some Los Angeles Apartments, 1970
Paperback book
Signed
17.7 x 13.8 x 0.5 cm
Published in 1970 by Anderson, Ritchie and Simon. Second edition
Soft covers. Good copy in original glassine wrappers, a little rubbed along top edge
Various Small Fires and Milk, 1964
Paperback book
Signed
17.6 x 13.9 x 0.5 cm
Self-published in Los Angeles, 1970. Second edition, limited to 3000 copies
Soft covers. Fine copy in glassine wrappers, signed on front free endpaper