The Californian artist Mel Ramos is regarded as a main representative of Hard Core Art, a special form of American Pop Art. Image of his striking works have quickly become part of a collective memory.
His preference for pin-up girls has become characteristic for the oeuvre of Mel Ramos, who was initially occupied with comic figures in the early 1960s. He often combined the pin-up girls with products of mass consumption, such as Colgate toothpaste, Coca Cola or McDonald's. His oeuvre also comprises nudes of famous women like Marilyn Monroe and the "Keyhole Images". Mel Ramos produced works both in painting as well as in print art. In terms of his style, Mel Ramos followed the principles of Hard Core Art: In a technique that took after Photorealism and a clear cool and objective manner he depicted his subjects in sharp outlines, this way he obviously hints at the aesthetics and mechanisms of advertising.
Works by Mel Ramos are in possession of renowned international collections and have been honored in numerous one-man shows, for instance the large retrospective in Germany and Austria in 1994/1995.