“There is no telling how the people of the future will perceive an idea. Only art can do that.”
Eddie Ruscha, 2021
I’m pleased to present Cosmic Harmonics, a solo exhibition by Eddie Ruscha which will run from 17 July to 7 August 2021.
For his first UK solo exhibition, Los Angeles based artist Eddie Ruscha has created spray paintings on paper and canvas board, which will hang alongside a video work and sound piece available on cassette. Guided by his desire to convey the spiritual and explore the relationship between colour, sound and movement, Ruscha’s works are a harmonic dance between the mechanical and organic. New works on paper employ fractals to generate a shimmering sense of movement, questioning our perception of reality and drawing us into an imaginary environment. Works in this series are named after early Busby Berkeley films, famous for their elaborate choreography of symmetrical dancers on stage. The synchronicity in Ruscha’s work becomes clear when the sound piece and video work are brought together in the space, leading the viewers’ ears and eyes from patterns in the mind to the building blocks of nature beyond.
There is a rhythm and consistency to Ruscha’s work, which resonates with the formation of flower blooms, mythical worlds and contemporary pop culture. His art references Abstraction, Op Art and the California Light and Space Movement, whilst his sound develops the global-minded concept of Fourth World music, exploring new possibilities in sound by combining musical traditions with advanced electronic techniques.
Eddie Ruscha (b. 1968) graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 1991 where he took classes in Balinese and African music, animation and experimental film which all informed his artistic practice. Ruscha’s work is held in private and public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Recent exhibitions include: Drawing Biennial 2021, Drawing Room, London (2021), Local Talent, Sprüth Magers, Berlin (2020), Circle of Truth, New Museum, Los Gatos (2019) and live performances: Fourth Sounds, Elephant West, London (2019), An Uncertain View at Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles (2018). He still lives and works in his birthplace of Southern California, where he produces music under the monikers Secret Circuit and E Ruscha V. He recently collaborated with the cult UK band Woo and his releases appear on the record label, Beats in Space.