The lure of the open road is a wily temptress. From Jack Kerouac to Bruce Chatwin to The Motorcycle Diaries, there’s something about life on the road that speaks almost prophetically to the solitary tempers of creative men. Ed Ruscha, one of the most recognizable and profuse artists of our time, is no exception. This week, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth opens Ed Ruscha: Road Tested, a 75-piece personal compendium of the artist’s life (and work) in transit. Conceived by the Modern’s head curator, Michael Auping, the show spans Ruscha’s entire career and every medium as he speeds through no-name towns, past building facades, service stations, signage and all the other random objects that make up the mundane, yet mythical thoroughfares of any American city — creating as he drove, what would eventually become some of the most iconic images of the 20th century.

     Auping, who first met Ruscha as a grad student in the early 70s, was kind enough to share his thoughts on why this show is unlike any other Ruscha retrospective you’ve ever seen.