This exhibition was the quiet heartbeat of urban life. Ed Ruscha’s Los Angeles Apartments, shown at the Kunstmuseum Basel in 2013, felt like stepping into a familiar yet overlooked world. Back in 1965, Ruscha published Some Los Angeles Apartments, the third in his series of photographic books. He didn’t stop at photography; he meticulously drew them. Ten preparatory studies, now part of Kunstmuseum Basel’s Prints and Drawings collection, brought architectural poetry to these modest dwellings.
Ruscha’s work doesn’t just capture life—it makes you feel it—the stillness of an LA afternoon, the hum of ordinary life. His art reminds me that every day is extraordinary if only we stop and look.
I also have a personal Ruscha story. I once met his younger brother, Paul, at Steidl’s, where I had the honour of designing this catalogue. Paul left me a handwritten note—a small but memorable connection to the Ruscha world.
Courtesy of Steidl Verlag.
