John Baldessari
Artist
John Baldessari at the opening of his exhibition at the Molly Barnes Gallery in Los Angeles, 1968. Photo by Phillip T. Jones and courtesy of John Baldessari. © Phillip T. Jones
John Baldessari was born in 1931, received his BA from San Diego State University in 1953, and did graduate work at Otis Art Institute, Chouinard Art Institute, and the University of California, Berkeley. Initially a painter, Baldessari began incorporating texts and photography into his canvases in the mid 1960s, and held his first solo exhibition at the Molly Barnes Gallery in Los Angeles in 1968. His deadpan visual juxtapositions of text and found photographic imagery, and humorous appropriation techniques have made him one of the pioneers of conceptual art. As a professor at CalArts from 1970–88, Baldessari’s innovative teaching practice inspired a new generation of conceptual painters and sculptors, including Jack Goldstein, Tony Oursler, and David Salle.
Works of Art
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Quality Material, 1966–68, John Baldessari. Acrylic on canvas. 67 3/4 x 56 1/2 in. Collection of Danielle and David Ganek. © John Baldessari
Explore the Archive
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John Baldessari (left) at the opening of his exhibition at the Molly Barnes Gallery in Los Angeles, 1968. Photo by Phillip T. Jones and courtesy of John Baldessari. © Phillip T. Jones
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John Baldessari in the late 1960s. Image courtesy of John Baldessari
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John Baldessari in 1960. Image courtesy of John Baldessari
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Exhibition announcement for Broxton Sequences: Sequential Imagery in Photography, at Broxton Gallery, 1976. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.5. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery
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Poster for John Baldessari exhibition Pure Beauty at Molly Barnes Gallery in Los Angeles, 1968. © John Baldessari. The Getty Research Institute, 890164.87
