Allen Ruppersberg (born 1944) is an American conceptual artist based in Los Angeles and New York City. He is one of the first generation of American conceptual artists that changed the way art was thought about and made. His work includes paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, installations and books.

Early life and education

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ruppersberg graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Chouinard Art Institute (now the California Institute of the Arts) in Los Angeles, California.

Career

During his early years in Los Angeles, he began significant relationships with John Baldessari, William Leavitt, Ed Ruscha, William Wegman and Allan McCollum. He participated in the 1969 exhibition When Attitudes Become Form, and is recognized as a seminal practitioner of installation art, having produced works including Al's Cafe (1969), Al's Grand Hotel (1971) and The Novel that Writes Itself (1978). He moved to New York in 1985.

Exhibitions

Since the late 1960s, his work has been the subject of over sixty solo exhibitions and nearly 200 group shows. In 1985, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles organized an exhibition of Ruppersberg's work, which subsequently traveled to the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. His work can be found in permanent collections of museums internationally, including:

Artist's philosophy

Ruppersberg's philosophy is to use language as a means of expression in its own right. He drew on all the different sectors of the mass media and the consumer society from a critical viewpoint.

Works

Awards

Personal life

Ruppersberg lives and works in Los Angeles and New York City. Ruppersburg is in a long term relationship for the past 12 years with Annette Leddy.

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