Over the past three decades, Raymond Pettibon (b. 1957, Tucson, Arizona) has established himself as a major voice in contemporary art, developing an incisive visual language rooted in punk culture, subversive energy, and a taste for satire and critical irony.
Emerging from Southern California’s scene in the late 1970s, Pettibon first gained recognition through drawings, fanzines, and album covers—most notably for Black Flag and Sonic Youth’s Goo. Closely linked to DIY aesthetics, his art blends high and low culture, combining literature, pop references, comics, and political rhetoric. His “story drawings” probe the darker side of America with biting irony and deliberate ambiguity.
At the Musée national Picasso-Paris, the exhibition presents Pettibon’s work as a counterpoint to that of his admired predecessor, Philip Guston (1913–1980), offering a unique dialogue between two leading figures of North American art.
Curator: Sébastien Delot, Director of Collections, Musée national Picasso
