MEL RAMOS: 100+ DRAWINGS

A leading figure in the West Coast Pop movement, American artist Mel Ramos (born 1935) blends sex and materialism in an openly raunchy iconography of liberated allure, everyday myths and the synthetic dreams of the advertising world. He first gained notoriety in the 1960s for his commercial pin-ups, voluptuous nude women draped over brand-name commercial products such as processed cheese, toothpaste, candy bars, soda pop and cigarettes. He continues to expand on this series today, now working in sculpture and tapestry in addition to painting and printmaking, variously incorporating the faces of famous actresses as a reflection of our celebrity-obsessed culture. This catalogue is the first to focus exclusively on Ramos s drawings. It includes sketches and drawings from the 1960s to the present day.