Ed Ruscha keeps time

Karen Rosenberg wrote in the New York Times about Ruscha's new "vanitas" paintings [above

and

below]

that "subject a blank, open book to the ravages of time. (In the final canvas it's moldy, dog-eared, and riddled with wormholes.)"

From left, the paintings are "Old Book Back Then," "Old Book With Wormholes," and "Old Book Today."

"Ed Ruscha," the show featuring these paintings along with a number of others, will remain up at New York City's Gagosian Gallery through January 12, 2013.

And no — mentioning I sent you will not get you a discount.