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Ed Ruscha

Parking Lots

January 5 – February 18, 2023

Ed Ruscha, Universal Studios, Universal City from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, 5000 W. Carling Way from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Litton Industries, 5500 Canoga, Woodland Hills, from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Gilmore Drive-In Theatre, 6201 W 3rd St. from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Zurich-American Insurance, 4465 Wilshire Blvd. from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, State Dept. of Emploment, 14400 Sherman Way, Van Nuys from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Dodgers Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave. from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Federal County and Police Building Lots, Van Nuys from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Pierce College, Woodland Hills from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Pierce College, Woodland Hills from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, May Company, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Rocketdyne, Canoga Park from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Sears Roebuck & Co., Bellingham & Hamlin, North Hollywood  from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Unidentified Lot, Reseda from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Good Year Tires, 6610 Laurel Canyon, North Hollywood from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, 7133 Kester, Nav Nuys from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, May Company, 6150 Laurel Canyon, North Hollywood from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Eileen Feather Salon, 14425 Sherman Way, Van Nuys from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Lockheed Air Terminal, 2627 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Lockheed Air Terminal, 2627 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank from the Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Pershing Square underground lot, 5th & Hill from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Fashion Square, Sherman Oaks from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Century City, 1800 Avenue of the Stars from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Century City, 1800 Avenue of the Stars from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, Church of Christ, 14655 Sherman Way, Van Nuys from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, 7101 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, State Board of Equalization, 14601 Sherman Way Van Nuys from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Ed Ruscha, 5600-5700 Blocks of Wilshire Blvd. from the series Parking Lots, 1967/1999. 15 x 15 inches on a 20 x 16 sheet.
Installation view, Parking Lots, 1967/1999. Yancey Richardson Gallery, NY.
Installation view, Parking Lots, 1967/1999. Yancey Richardson Gallery, NY.
Installation view, Parking Lots, 1967/1999. Yancey Richardson Gallery, NY.
Installation view, Parking Lots, 1967/1999. Yancey Richardson Gallery, NY.

Press Release

Yancey Richardson is pleased to present a series of seminal early photographs by Ed Ruscha from January 5 through February 18, 2023. Parking Lots, a portfolio of thirty images from 1967, anchor the artist’s trajectory over a career spanning six decades. One of the most influential American artists of his time, Ruscha is known for his iconic images of gas stations, swimming pools, and vacant lots that emphasize the banality of modern urban life.

 

Parking Lots reflects Ruscha’s interest in serial imagery, topography, mapping, and car culture, presenting the urban landscape as a geometric design with the artist’s inimitable deadpan style. Prints from Parking Lots are in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Art Institute of Chicago; and Tate Modern, London.

 

Made from a helicopter in Southern California early on a Sunday morning, the aerial photographs of mostly empty parking lots show the rapidly growing urban sprawl of Los Angeles including Dodgers Stadium, Universal Studios, Good Year Tires, and Sears, Roebuck & Co. The photographs were originally released  in the form of a self-published and mass produced 1967 artist’s book entitled Thirtyfour Parking Lots. In 1999, Ruscha revisited his early work, and produced limited edition portfolios. The photographs in the portfolio were printed from the same negatives as the 1967 book but are cropped differently, sometimes displaying more of the original images.

One of the most important artists working today, Ed Ruscha was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1937 and was raised in Oklahoma City. He moved to Los Angeles in 1956 to attend Chouinard Art Institute, which is now California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). His work was shown at the influential Ferus Gallery in L.A. in the 1960s. Ruscha’s diverse oeuvre includes painting, drawing, prints, photography, film, and artists books. With an inquisitive and philosophical approach, his text-based paintings comment on pop culture, language, commercial advertising, and contemporary life.

 

Ruscha’s first retrospective was held in 2004 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. In 2005, he represented the United States in the 51st Venice Biennale. In September 2023, the Museum of Modern Art will present Ed Ruscha: Now and Then, the artist’s most comprehensive exhibition. His work is in the collections of numerous museums around the world including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Tate Modern, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and many others. Ruscha has been living and working in the Los Angeles area for over 60 years.

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