Folded Fats

1963

“Twentysix Gasoline Stations” is published

The first of sixteen small artist's books produced between 1962 and 1978; the photographic books present precisely what their titles describe.

1963

First solo exhibition at Ferus Gallery

His first solo exhibition takes place at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, around which a group of artists has gathered, among them Robert Irwin, John Altoon, John McCracken, Larry Bell, Ken Price and Edward Kienholz.

1966

“Every Building on the Sunset Strip” is published

A book of continuous photographs of a two-and-a-half-mile stretch of the 24-mile Sunset Boulevard.

1966

“Los Angeles Now” in London — his first European exhibition

Ruscha is included in “Los Angeles Now” at the Robert Fraser Gallery in London, his first European exhibition.

1967

Marries Danna Knego

He marries Danica “Danna” Knego, whom he met in 1965; the couple has two children, a son, Edward “Eddie”, and a daughter, Sonny.

1967–1970

Self-imposed exile from painting: gunpowder and graphite drawings

During a period of self-imposed exile from painting (1967–1970) he makes gunpowder and graphite drawings: single words in a trompe l'oeil technique, as if formed from ribbons of curling paper.