If Ed Ruscha made a chocolate bar, it would hit just the right note between Californian bounty and playful elegance. Lucky, then, that his first foray into sweet edible art embodies exactly this, with a collaboration with andSons Chocolatiers bringing an arty spin to ‘Made in California’, a seriously good chocolate.
Why chocolate? ‘We think the best kind of art is one that raises questions and opens a dialogue,’ says Marc Covitz of the family-run, Beverly Hills-based chocolatier. ‘This particular work always resonated and was an invitation to explore what Made in California means to us. We grew up seeing Ruscha's work and were re-inspired by his recent retrospectives at MoMA and LACMA. We approached the studio and were so pleased with their willingness to collaborate. After many iterations, the project fell into place quite easily.’
The result is made of three ingredients: blood orange olive oil from Petaluma, Sonoma County; sea salt from Tomales Bay; and 73 per cent Peruvian dark chocolate roasted by Chef Thomas Keller in Napa Valley. It is cast in a handcrafted mould of a section of California's Central Valley, stretching from the Pacific Ocean down to the Santa Lucia Mountains. ‘Chef Sandy Tran dreamed up this visual expression, of a region known for agriculture,’ Covitz adds. ‘From her experience of being the executive pastry chef of The French Laundry in Napa. Chef Sandy was familiar with many Californian organic farms. She and our culinary team take an ingredient-first approach and hand-select each vendor. It is also meaningful to our family business to identify and support other independent businesses.’
The chocolate comes in a cloth-wrapped box printed with a reproduction of Ruscha’s lithograph, Made in California (1971), courtesy of the artist and Gagosian. Says Covitz, ‘[He’s] one of the great artists of our time, [and] we could not resist the opportunity to craft a playful response to the work.’
Made in California is $295, in an edition of 300, and available from early December 2025 for pick-up in Beverly Hills or USA and Canada shipping, and-sons.com; sign up on the website to get notified
-
Terrified to get inked? This inviting Brooklyn tattoo parlour is for people who are 'a little bit nervous'With minty-green walls and an option to 'call mom', Tiny Zaps' Williamsburg location was designed to tame jitters
-
Let’s hear it for the Chopard L.U.C Grand Strike chiming watchThe Swiss watchmaker’s most complicated timepiece to date features an innovative approach to producing a crystal-clear sound
-
Form... and flavour? The best design-led restaurant debuts of 2025A Wallpaper* edit of the restaurant interiors that shaped how we ate, gathered and lingered this year
-
Nadia Lee Cohen distils a distant American memory into an unflinching new photo book‘Holy Ohio’ documents the British photographer and filmmaker’s personal journey as she reconnects with distant family and her earliest American memories
-
Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are a love letter to Prospect ParkIn a new book, ‘Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025’, Jamel Shabazz discovers a warmer side of human nature
-
The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles launches the seventh iteration of its highly anticipated artist biennialOne of the gallery's flagship exhibitions, Made in LA showcases the breadth and depth of the city's contemporary art scene
-
Thomas Prior’s photography captures the uncanny fragility of American lifeA new book unites two decades of the photographer’s piercing, uneasy work
-
Central Park’s revitalised Delacorte Theater gears up for a new futureEnnead Architects helmed an ambitious renovation process that has given the New York City cultural landmark a vibrant and more accessible future
-
Stephen Prina borrows from pop, classical and modern music: now MoMA pays tribute to his performance work‘Stephen Prina: A Lick and a Promise’ recalls the artist, musician, and composer’s performances, and is presented throughout MoMA. Prina tells us more
-
Curtains up, Kid Harpoon rethinks the sound of Broadway production ‘Art’He’s crafted hits with Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus; now songwriter and producer Kid Harpoon (aka Tom Hull) tells us about composing the music for the new, all-star Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s play ‘Art’
-
Richard Prince recontextualises archival advertisements in TexasThe artist unites his ‘Posters’ – based on ads for everything from cat pictures to nudes – at Hetzler, Marfa
