Today we’re thrilled to release the iconic Roller Rover, our seventh edition with the legendary William Wegman. Wegman’s clever, deceptively accessible work has delighted people worldwide for decades while simultaneously—and stealthily—introducing them to the often-baffling realm of conceptual art.
Roller Rover by William Wegman
10"x8" ($60) | 14"x11" ($120) | 20"x16" ($600) | 30"x24" ($2400) | 40"x30" ($5000)
It’s been both a privilege and an education to work with William Wegman and all of his equally amazing collaborators over the years. Roller Rover is our seventh edition with this talented, funny, and brilliant man, and the first new one we’ve released with him in a couple of years. Our continuing relationship with Bill and his pack is very high on the list of “We must be doing something right!” things that have kept us going through a long period of challenging reinvention.
Bill’s practice embodies many of the most idealistic elements of the Art-for-Everyone ethos that fuels our passion here at 20x200. Many people know him as “that dog guy,” which is understandable seeing as how iconic images like this one have made him a household name. What’s harder to understand is how Bill’s rich and varied conceptual practice informs these images, which is why we’ve often introduced paired editions that include his paintings and drawings.
Lots of people don’t get much further than the most immediately captivating things about these photos of Fay Ray and her progeny: their patient pliancy, the bordering-on-slapstick anthropomorphization, and well, they’re just so damn gorgeous to look at. But there’s a rich reward to sticking with it, and diving in deeper.
Start with this articulate, insightful and (of course!) funny Q+A that Bill did with David Schonauer on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Roller Rover itself. Then bop on over to YouTube to see a clip of Bill talking about conceptual art. On network television. In 1982.
There’s a lot further to go from there, but you should be able, and willing, to forge your own path after those two tidbits. You might delve deeper into the history of Bill’s practice, or find yourself intrigued by video art in general, or just start trolling for more vintage Letterman clips. Whatever you do is ok by me, and Bill too, I’m pretty sure. Wherever you go from there, I’m nearly certain you’ll sally forth knowing that there’s a whole lot more to Bill than him being “that dog guy.”
Don’t forget to make your way back here too! We’ll always have more art from other equally amazing and intriguing artists and we’re also cooking up another incredible, ambitious release with Bill that we’ll share with you towards the end of November. (It’s ahhh-mazing, but that’s all I can say for now, sorry!)
With art for everyone,
Jen Bekman + Team 20x200
The Fine Print
+ Limit 2 prints per customer.
+ This edition is not eligible for any discounts, promotions and/or coupon codes.
+ These prints are being custom-printed and carefully proofed; as we're expecting a high volume of orders, shipping will likely take 10 - 14 business days.
