About Words

April 4 - June 9, 2023

Ed Ruscha, Robert Barry, Iain Baxter, Steve Reich, Pat Steir, and William T. Wiley

Crown Point Press announces the release of Castiron Calendar, a new etching by Ed Ruscha. It is featured in a group exhibition, About Words, that includes eleven of Ruscha’s etchings made between 2006 and 2023 along with a selection of prints made between 1977 and 2019 by Robert Barry, Iain Baxter, Steve Reich, Pat Steir and William T. Wiley. Each artist uses words as imagery to explore language and meaning visually.

Ed Ruscha throughout his career has used words as subject matter. These “non-verbal communications,” as he describes them, are set against textured backgrounds that act as stage sets or backdrops. In his new print, Castiron Calendar, Ruscha created the letters in his iconic font by using a stencil. The two words, one stacked on top of the other, pop out from a dark background. The words play against each other: “calendar” marks the passage of time, while “cast iron,” in its heaviness and solidity, endures. The print mixes visual formality with playful language, and resonates in meaning and in presentation.

Press Release

Castiron Calendar
Ed Ruscha, Castiron Calendar, 2023
Color direct gravure.
19¾ x 36"; 26¼ x 42". 40.
Crown Point Press and Emily York.
$12,000    InquireInquire
Ed Ruscha signs
Ed Ruscha signs "Castiron Calendar", 2023. Photo by Susan Haller.

InquireInquire
Lonely Highway
Ed Ruscha, Lonely Highway, 2019
Color direct gravure with aquatint.
15¼ x 24½"; 21¼ x 29½". 40.
Crown Point Press and Emily York.
$9,500    InquireInquire
SIgn in a Sandstorm
Ed Ruscha, SIgn in a Sandstorm, 2021
Direct gravure printed in black and brown.
23¼ x 19½"; 28½ x 24½". 40.
Crown Point Press and Courtney Sennish.
$11,500    InquireInquire
Sign in a Rainstorm
Ed Ruscha, Sign in a Rainstorm, 2021
Direct gravure printed in black and blue.
23¼ x 19½"; 28½ x 24½". 40.
Crown Point Press and Courtney Sennish.
$11,500    Unavailable
Sign in a Mudstorm
Ed Ruscha, Sign in a Mudstorm, 2021
Direct gravure printed in black and brown.
23¼ x 19½"; 28½ x 24½". 40.
Crown Point Press and Courtney Sennish.
$11,500    InquireInquire
Zoot Suit
Ed Ruscha, Zoot Suit, 2014
Flat bite etching printed in red.
29½ x 25½"; 36½ x 31½". 40.
Crown Point Press and Emily York.
$10,000    InquireInquire
Rain Gain
Ed Ruscha, Rain Gain, 2014
Flat bite etching .
29½ x 25½"; 36½ x 31½". 40.
Crown Point Press and Emily York.
$10,000    InquireInquire
Real Deal
Ed Ruscha, Real Deal, 2014
Flat bite etching printed in blue.
29½ x 25½"; 36½ x 31½". 40.
Crown Point Press and Emily York.
$10,000 fair market value    Unavailable
Desert Gravure
Ed Ruscha, Desert Gravure, 2006
Photogravure.
15½ x 19¾"; 21¼ x 24¾". 30.
Crown Point Press and Dena Schuckit.
$9,500    InquireInquire
Your Space Gravure
Ed Ruscha, Your Space Gravure, 2006
Photogravure with color aquatint and hard ground etching printed on gampi paper chine collé.
22¾ x 15¾"; 28¾ x 21". 30.
Crown Point Press and Dena Schuckit.
$9.500 fair market value    Proof AvailableProof Available
Motor City
Ed Ruscha, Motor City, 2009
Portfolio of seven color aquatints with hard ground etching.
five images measure 7 x 6½"; two images measure 6½ x 7"; 10¼ x 9½. 50.
Crown Point Press and Emily York.
$25,000    InquireInquire
Color/Language Participatory Etching
Iain Baxter, Color/Language Participatory Etching, 1979
Color soft ground etching.
16 x 12"; 21 x 16". 10.
Crown Point Press and Nancy Anello.
$800    InquireInquire
Five
Robert Barry, Five, 1978
A detail from one of five hard ground etchings printed in gray.
26 x 26"; 26 x 26". 25.
Crown Point Press and John Sllvon.
$7,500 set    InquireInquire
Marking Time
Pat Steir, Marking Time, 1977
Color drypoint with hand coloring by the artist.
14 x 32"; 30 x 42". 35.
Crown Point Press and Patrick Foy.
$3,000 fair market value    Proof AvailableProof Available
Two Scores
Steve Reich, Two Scores, 1978
Set of two photoetchings.
14 x 11¾"; 22 x 18". 35.
Crown Point Press and John Slivon.
$5,500    InquireInquire
Charmin Billy
William T. Wiley, Charmin Billy, 2006
Color photogravure with burnishing, soft ground etching and spit bite aquatint.
32½ x 26"; 41½ x 34". 10.
Crown Point Press and Catherine Brooks.
$6,500    InquireInquire

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