Cover Artist : Raymond Pettibon
Raymond Pettibon, our “artist in residence” for the Water Issue, holds a degree in economics from UCLA. In 1977 he pursued a career in art starting out designing album covers for punk rock bands including The Minutemen, Sonic Youth, and Black Flag – a band started by his brother Greg Ginn for which Pettibon played base.
Pettibon’s major break into the contemporary art world began in 1992 with his participation in the controversial and iconoclastic show “Helter Skelter” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angles. In 1995 Pettibon had his first major solo exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery.
He works mainly with ink on paper and has also used his drawings to create unique animations.
Pettibon prolifically churns out work inspired by the realm of surf culture. His subjects are less often seen on the beach hanging out as they are depicted wiping out within massive waves. He frequently works on a large scale covering entire wall spaces with thousands of his signature sweeping brushstrokes giving the viewer a sense that they too are being consumed by the wave.
Raymond is now the lead singer of the Niche Makers, a band based in Venice, California. His work is part of several private and public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. He currently lives and works in Hermosa Beach, California.