Señorita Rio, 1964
Color lithograph on BFK Rives rag paper, in two parts (as published), 41 x 58 cm overall. From the signed deluxe edition of 100 (there was also an unsigned edition of 2,000).
EUR 2,000
Mel Ramos’s edition Señorita Rio (1964), created for the landmark print portfolio 1 Cent Life, presents a stylized comic-book heroine in a striking Pop Art composition. Framed within a bold circular field, the glamorous figure points a revolver while a wisp of smoke connects her image to Walasse Ting’s poem America on the facing page. Ramos draws on the visual language of comic books, pin-up imagery and popular culture, combining idealized femininity with the imagery of violence and adventure. The juxtaposition of the seductive heroine and Ting’s text creates an ambivalent portrait of American popular culture, where glamour, fantasy and aggression coexist.
