Hey’ let’s go for a ride

JAMES ROSENQUIST

Born in 1933 in Grand Forks, James Rosenquist is among the leading figures of American Pop Art. His early experience as a billboard painter in New York during the 1950s deeply influenced his approach to painting, introducing a particular focus on monumental scale and the visual impact of images. In the early 1960s, he transferred this visual language into the artistic context, creating works characterized by unexpected and fragmented juxtapositions. Images drawn from advertising, the media, and mass culture are reworked into compositions that offer a critical reflection on American society. Among his most emblematic works is F-111 (1965), a vast pictorial installation that weaves together references to war, consumption, and technology, capturing the complex atmosphere of the time. Rosenquist’s entire body of work is distinguished by the use of bright colors and clean surfaces—elements directly derived from the language of advertising but transformed into tools for reflection. His work continues to serve as a key reference point for the analysis of contemporary imagery up until his death in 2017.