Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting

14 October – 10 January 2010, Hayward Gallery

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009. Photo: Marcus J Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

Ed Ruscha: Fifty Years of Painting was the first major retrospective to focus exclusively on the paintings of Los Angeles-based Ruscha – one of the most influential and innovative American artists of the past half century.

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009. Photo: Marcus Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

The exhibition revealed the depth and breadth of Ruscha’s achievement as a painter.

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009. Photo: Marcus J Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

Exploring the impact of print and graphic media on the artist’s aesthetic strategies, the exhibition also focused on the incisive portrait of American culture presented through his work, and tracked the ways in which Ruscha has repeatedly reinvented his artistic vocabulary throughout his career.

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009. Photo: Marcus Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009. Photo: Marcus Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009. Photo: Marcus Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

Poster for Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009 (2009) by Hayward GalleryHayward Gallery

Exhibition poster for Ed Ruscha: Fifty Years of Painting.

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009. Photo: Marcus J Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

Installation plan for Ed Ruscha: Fifty Years of Painting.

Upper Gallery Plans for Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009 (2009) by Hayward GalleryHayward Gallery

Upper gallery plan for Ed Ruscha: Fifty Years of Painting.

Installation view: Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009.Photo: Marcus Leith (2009) by Ed RuschaHayward Gallery

Exhibition press release.

Exhibition Guide for Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009 Exhibition Guide for Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting, Hayward Gallery, 2009 (2009) by Hayward GalleryHayward Gallery

Exhibition guide for Ed Ruscha: Fifty Years of Painting.

David Evison, Number Six (1975) and Larry Bell Untitled (1971/72). Installation View: The Condition of Sculpture: A Selection of Recent Sculpture by Younger British and Foreign artists, Hayward Gallery, 1975. Photo: Heini Shneebeil (2009)Hayward Gallery

Review of the exhibition by the Independent's Charles Derwent.

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