Richard Pettibone was born in Los Angles in 1938 and became well known in the 60’s for his paintings that faithfully reproduce images of artworks by his contemporaries in small scale. The reference source for Pettibone’s paintings was not the actual work of these artists but rather the reproduction of the works in art magazines, such as Artforum that he saw when he was a student. This ultimately determined the small size of his paintings which became the most recognizable characteristic for the artist together with their accuracy.
The presentation aims to provide a comprehensive survey of Richard Pettibone’s work from the 1960s through 2010 and includes appropriation most associated with the artist such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns Marcel Duchamp, and Piet Mondrian. A highlight of the presentation includes two versions of Andy Warhol, ‘Thirty-two Campbell’s Soup Cans’, 1961, 2009, and 2010, in which Pettibone appropriates Andy Warhol’s masterpiece now at MoMA.
While Pettibone’s accurate appropriation is distinctive in his work, he also modified the work of artists he initially appropriated which is evident in paintings such as Andy Warhol, ‘Marilyn’, 1964, L. H. O. O. Q., 2003/2004, where Pettibone seems to indicate that it was Warhol’s time to receive the mustache treatment.
Richard Pettibone was first introduced to Leo Castelli Gallery by Andy Warhol and subsequently had his first exhibition at the gallery in 1969. He has been showing with Castelli Gallery for the past twenty years.
