Raymond Pettibon American, b. 1957

Emerging from Southern California’s DIY culture and punk-rock sensibility, Raymond Pettibon’s work retains a youthful edginess and strong political engagement. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of cultural sources—Pettibon creates cartoon-inspired ink drawings on paper that evoke the aesthetics of fanzines and music flyers. Best known as a cult figure within the Los Angeles punk rock scene, Raymond Pettibon quickly gained international recognition as one of the most prominent contemporary American artists working with drawing, text, and artist's books. His work is characterized by its eclectic exploration of a wide range of subjects—from surfing and typography to art history, 19th-century literature, 1960s American politics, and contemporary pop culture.

Pettibon’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States and abroad. In 2013, he reworked a drawing from 2010 that was featured as the tenth installation of the High Line Billboard in New York. Prominent venues that have held solo exhibitions of the artist’s work include the Kumu Kunstimuuseum, Tallinn, Estonia (2015); Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland (2012); Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover (2007); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2006); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain (2006); Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (2005); and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2005). In 1998, he had his first American museum presentation, organized by The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which traveled to The Drawing Center, New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.