Edward Ruscha’s art exudes humor and honesty. What you see is what you get. Subsequent viewings won’t reveal hidden depths in it. And they make you feel really good.Perhaps, that’s the reason why Parisian art dealer Thomas Bompard asked several international art dealers to lend Galerie Gradiva works by Ruscha from their private collections to be displayed ‘just like at home,’ on the walls of an 18th-century private mansion opposite the Louvre. Larry Gagosian, Dominique Lévy, Enrico Navarra, Almine Rech and Paolo Vedovi accepted to play along.The exhibition, “The Letter kills, but Spirit gives life!” presents an overview of the artist's creation from the 1960s to his most recent works. It is the first exhibition to be devoted to the Californian artist in Paris since the 2006 Ed Ruscha “Photographe Show” at the Jeu de Paume.The title is a literal quote from the Bible, inviting spectators not to look at Ruscha’s works ‘to the letter,’ as textual media, but as actual paintings. "Since the 1960s, Ed Ruscha has constantly been carrying out chromatic experiences of incredible sensuality, playing on materials by painting with new media such as blood, egg white, gunpowder and carrot juice. This artist’s virtually religious loyalty to his art moves me deeply. To my mind, Ruscha is one of American painting giants and it is a great privilege to show him in Paris," Thomas Bompard says.Other works are likely to come and join Galerie Gradiva’s new, ephemeral but prestigious show that is on till December 13.
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