Ed Ruscha

Vanish by Ed Ruscha, 1973.

• Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).
• Screenprint in colors on Arches Wove paper.
• Hand signed, dated and inscribed.
• This work is presented unframed.  

This screenprint in colors is hand signed in pencil “E. Ruscha” at the lower left sheet edge. It is dated “1973” next to the signature. It is also hand inscribed in pencil ‘Artist’s proof,’ at the lower left sheet edge. This is one of 13 artist’s proofs aside from the standard edition of 50.

It was printed by Ed Hamilton and co-published by Cirrus Editions and Brooke Alexander Editions, Los Angeles and New York. 

In the 1960s, Ed Ruscha's words typically followed a standard formal style. The emboldened logo in the artist's Standard Station series epitomizes the hard-edge typeface that had become characteristic of the artist's graphic design.

The ensuing years saw Ruscha embark on the set of paintings, drawings, and prints known collectively as the "Liquid Word" series. The artist had started pouring various fluids on flat surfaces and sketching the results, finding the irregular formations of pooling liquid a compelling contrast to the rigidity of his earlier text. He began to adapt this amorphous quality to his words.

In 1969, Ruscha realized this new typography in print. He completed a two-month fellowship at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, a non-profit print workshop in Los Angeles founded to introduce a new generation of artists to lithography. Collaborating with Tamarind's Robert Rogers, Ruscha produced a group of masterful lithographs in small editions that explore his "romance with liquids." 

Hand signed, dated and inscribed.

Engberg, S. (1999). Edward Ruscha Editions 1959-1999: Catalogue Raisonné. Minneapolis: Walker Art Centre. Reference: Engberg 68