Uniquely among his contemporaries, Allen Ruppersberg (born 1944) has adapted the possibilities of drawing to make idea-based work in populist terms, by uniting his twin loves of illustration and literature. Ruppersberg's drawings, which range from depictions of books from his library and letters by authors such as Joseph Conrad and Ezra Pound to writing, portraits and drawn appropriations of illustrations from magazines, postcards and books, reveal both skill and deftness of conception. This survey of Ruppersberg's early drawings--many reproduced here for the first time--looks at his accomplishments in this medium. An essay by Leslie Jones, curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, explores the relationship between drawing and writing in Ruppersberg's work (an idea further explored in and Writing, the companion volume to Drawing).

Text by: Leslie Jones