James Rosenquist: A Retrospective

by Sarah Bancroft, Ruth Fine, James Rosenquist

Lipsticks, automobiles, dishwashers, men in business suits, spaghetti, rockets, airplanes, hairdryers, ice cream cones and pigtailed girls. James Rosenquist has always known how to combine these seemingly disparate but always all-American elements into whirlwind, billboard-sized collages of airbrushed surreal euphoria, slamming colors, patterns and objects into one another with the eye of an advertising man and the heart of a Pop artist. This momentous catalogue, published to accompany the first in-depth survey of the artist's work since 1972, will give long-overdue, in-depth attention to Rosenquist's singular achievement in American art. Extensive illustrations cover major works in diverse media, including work on paper that reveals the artist's process, as well as extensive new and archival photography. Essays focus on areas that have only been superficially addressed in the literature to date, bringing the level of Rosenquist scholarship up to that of his Pop Art contemporaries. Curator Walter Hopps provides an overview of the artist's career; Julia Blaut considers the artist's source collages in the context of 20th-century collage; Ruth E. Fine addresses Rosenquist's prints; art collector and former aeronautics researcher Eugene E. Epstein relates the artist's work to scientific phenomena. Also included are a definitive biography, exhibition history and illustrated chronology.

Genres: Art

472 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Maria Skyllas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This catalogue is beautifully illustrated. I'm a huge fan of Pop art, and Rosenquist's work is awesome.

This book also includes three essays providing interesting information on Rosenquist's career and artistic techniques. It's fascinating to see how he planned his paintings with preparatory collages. The second essay was a drag though. I was interested in the topic, but the author's unnecessarily lengthy explanations got me bored. This is the only thing that keeps me from rating this book 5 stars.

I wish I could see the originals, especially Rosenquist's gigantic paintings...

[Laura Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this show at the Guggenheim in 2003. It made a huge impression on me. I absolutely love the space flowers from the 1980s.

[Chris Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not necessarily a fan of the paintings of Rosenquist; however, I've only never seen them in person. Paintings, especially on this scale, are a different thing in person than seen in books. I think he's very good at what he does, it just doesn't appeal to me. My interest in this book was in his process, his working habits, and himself. When I was considering my ways I've working I realised that some of my thoughts were leaning towards what I knew about Rosenquist. This is an excellent book, with large well-printed images of his artwork and the text is engaging and well written.

[Brian]

incredibly talented artist. learning more aboutim...

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the definitive book on Rosenquist.

[patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.