Michelle Varinata
Apr 20, 2017
"If there's any voice, it's multiple, even within the same work," - Raymond Pettibon
The world's most famous album cover by Raymond Pettibon
Artist Biography
Raymond Pettibon (unknown date in 1957 in Tuscon, Arizona, USA) is an American artist whose pen and ink drawings are admired by celebrities (e.g. actor/producer Ben Stiller) to museums (e.g. New Museum). During his childhood, he spent the majority of his life in Hermosa Beach, California. It was where he fell in love with drawing and the counterculture scene (i.e. punk). With his brother, Gregg Ginn, as one of the founders of Black Flag, Petition designed posters for band.
Despite his artistic interests, Petition studied economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he graduated in 1977.
A vintage Black Flag poster he designed for his brother's band
Since 2009, he has been living in New York City.
Auction Results
Pettibon's No Title (But the sand...) sold for $820,000 at an auction for Christie's. Another painting, No Title (From life to...) sold for $760,000 at the same auction in 2011. Apart from being auctioned at Christie's, Pettibon's 625 watercolor drawings, 116 prints, 53 paintings and 3 sculpture-volumes (e.g. a surfboard and a water bottle) are currently listed on Art Price. In 2016, Pettibon sold 41 lots on Art Price, which led him to earning a turnover of $863,778.
Current Works on Sale
Raymond Pettibon, No Title (It tastes better...), (2013), Ink and acrylic on paper, 25 1/8 × 32 87/100 × 1 1/2 in, David Zwirner, London - New York
Raymond Pettibon, No Title (If indeed it...), (2013), Ink on paper, 30 63/100 × 26 1/2 × 1 1/2 in, David Zwirner, London - New York
Raymond Pettibon, Untitled, (2008), Mixed Media, 16 × 13 × 9 1/2 in, Heather James Fine Art, Palm Desert
Raymond Pettibon, Orange Sunshine, (2003), Ink on paper, 14 × 13 in, Burning in Water, New York
Selected Past Shows
Raymond Pettibon, Philadelphia Museum of Art, April 30 - July 25, 1999
Raymond Pettibon, Hard in the Paint, David Zwirner, New York, November 6 - December 18, 2010
Raymond Pettibon, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, April 23 - May 30, 2015
Current and Upcoming Shows
Raymond Pettibon - A Pen of All Work, New Museum, New York, February 8 - April 16, 2017
Curiosities
Raymond's given name was Raymond Ginn
He created the Black Flag logo and helped his brother create the name
Parodies of the Sonic Youth album cover were posted on Tumblr
Red Hot Chili Peppers made a music video inspired by the artist
He did not add color to his artwork until the 1990s
Petition's No Title (From life to...) was on the cover of a Christie's auction catalogue
"It's a hopeless cause to look at an artist and go into their biography," - Raymond Pettibon
Sources
http://observer.com/2011/09/jennifer-aniston-sets-record-price-for-glenn-ligon-at-13-7-m-artists-for-haiti-auction-at-christies/
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/14/raymond-pettibon-sonic-youth-black-flag
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/arts/design/raymond-pettibon-new-museum.html
http://www.spin.com/2011/11/red-hot-chili-peppers-hipster-makeover-continues-unabated-monarchy-roses-video/
https://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/12-parodies-of-sonic-youths-goo-album-cover?utm_term=.hl012GQ7J#.kpJ4DWEno