New York, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, Mel Ramos The Heroines of 1962-64, 5 October – 26 October, 1991
Literature
D. Kuspit and L. K. Meisel, Mel Ramos Pop Art Fantasies: The Complete Paintings, New York, 2004, p. 58 (illustrated); E. Claridge, The Girls of Mel Ramos, New York, p. 52 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
Ramos realized that there was a world of female superheroes and villains and turned his attention to the female figure epitomized by these sexy comic book characters. In his later paintings, Ramos costumed heroine acquired a fuller figure than her comic book inspiration.The illusionistic effect of the medallion opening is really trompe l’oeil, with the figure appearing to project from the picture plane. This style with which Ramos had begun to paint his female figures was inspired by the realistic approach of the pin-up artists of the 1930s and 40s. His colors became more vibrant, his contours more flowing. His heroines were now more sexually suggestive.
Mel Ramos is an American Pop artist best known for his paintings of female nudes alongside brand logos. His depictions of women with everyday products celebrate aspects of popular culture represented in mass media and advertising. Like his contemporaries Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, Ramos was inspired by comic books and grew up drawing cartoons and characters from their pages. The artist's works, including paintings, prints and works on paper, feature in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, among others.