PARIS.- Gagosian presents Ed Ruscha: Talking Doorways at the rue de Castiglione gallery from October 22 to December 3. In the new paintings on view, Ruscha shifts from the representation of public-facing façades to the quiet drama of private interiors. Talking Doorways coincides with Says I, to Myself, Says I, an exhibition of another series of works by Ruscha at Gagosian’s Davies Street gallery in London, which is on view from October 14 to December 19.

Over six decades, Ruscha has frequently returned to architecture and infrastructure as a subject, depicting gas stations, apartment buildings, parking lots, museums, houses, and industrial sites as seen from the street and the air. The paintings of Talking Doorways move for the first time from exteriors to interiors, using subtle gradients of stippling to depict rooms that are bare except for decorative molding and doorframes. In addition, each work features a doorway through which a painted phrase appears, crossing the threshold and accompanied by trailing linear bands that suggest both beams of light and the soundwaves of spoken words.

Ruscha’s investigation of interiors was triggered in part by the work of Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916). Best known for his enigmatic paintings of light-filled rooms that are either empty or occupied by a single figure, Hammershøi crafted works that are restrained in palette and closely observed, evoking a sense of quiet attentiveness. Reflecting on his consideration of Hammershøi’s paintings, Ruscha notes:

I began to see the insides of walls with moldings and wainscoting and little curbs and things that intrigued me. And while my work is nothing like his, I can say that his work has inspired me. He’s more plainspoken and downright rigid compared to what people do today. Formal and rigid and cold, but still making a true statement.

Ruscha’s new works similarly convey a sense of interiority, though their feeling of quietness is disrupted by the painted texts, suggesting a conversation or monologue. Stretching 10 feet (3 meters), Says I to Myself Says I (2025) features the titular phrase, which voices an introspective enunciation mined from vernacular language, divided into three bands that emphasize the palindromic repetition of “Says I.” A visualization of talking through the frame of a doorway, it is also a declaration of Ruscha’s ongoing inquiries into art and language.

Gagosian will publish a catalogue on Ruscha’s new work to accompany the exhibition.