On view may 30 through august 30

Stations Words—Bars Cars brings together the works of artists Ed Ruscha and Ron Cooper, who met and became friends during an intensely creative time in California—both artists attended Chouinard Art Institute.  An important aspect of each artists practice is the road, light, and movement across the landscape of the American west.  The timing of this exhibition is also a celebration of sorts for the centennial of Route 66.  Amarillo has been a unique place of inspiration and observation for a number of artists, but few locations have held such an iconic status in American art as Ed Ruscha’s paintings, prints, and photographs of a singular Standard Station in Amarillo, Texas.  In a sense, this Station exists at a literal and figural intersection of an American crossroad.  As a member of the Southern California Light and Space movement, Ron Cooper’s use of automotive pigments on transparent plexiglass reflect and refract light—shifting tone and color as viewers engage and move through space.  This engagement with light and space is uniquely available to those who travel across the vast horizontal plains of the Texas Panhandle.  These works, in combination with a selection of Ruscha’s prints of signs and words, and alongside four of Ron Cooper’s immaculately constructed automobiles, provide an opportunity for reflection on a uniquely American experience.

 Ed Ruscha is an American artist whose practice spans drawing, painting, photography, film, printmaking, and publishing.  Ruscha’s early experience with graphic design is evident in his subtle use of typography. He is perhaps best known for his artist’s books, such as Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963), as well as his word paintings which skew the meaning of each word through material, color, background, and font.  Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1937, he grew up in Oklahoma City before moving to Los Angeles to study art at the Chouinard Art Institute.  Deeply influenced by the culture and atmosphere of Southern California, Los Angeles has continued to be a consistent wellspring for Ruscha’s imagination.  Ruscha’s works are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Tate Gallery in London, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and many others. He continues to live and work in Los Angeles, California.

 Ron Cooper was born in New York City in 1943 and attended Chouinard Art Institute in the early 1960s.  By 1973, he had participated in numerous international solo and group exhibitions.  During this time, his artworks were added to the permanent collections of the Guggenheim Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and many others.  He is among the pioneering California-based Light and Space artists who worked to break beyond the bounds of physical objects to experiment with the manipulation of light and space and their effects on perception.  In the 1990s, Ron lived in Oaxaca and founded Del Maguey to help bring Mezcal to the world at large.  In 2016, he was awarded the James Beard Award for “Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional.”  Ron is also an avid collector and racer of vintage custom automobiles.  He continues to live and work in Taos, New Mexico.