John Baldessari (b.1931) has been fusing photography, montage, painting, and text to create complex compositions that explore the multifaceted interpretations of cultural iconography. Born in National City, CA, Baldessari has been an important proponent of West Coast Art, and, in particular, championed emerging artists that came out of California Art Schools. Deriving imagery from a variety of sources, including advertising and film, Baldessari subverts common visual associations by drawing attention to minute details, absurd juxtapositions, and obscured or fragmented portions of images. He also applies a painterly element to remind the viewer that the hand of the artist is not only present in the placement of the images, but is also there in the hybridization of the creative process. As a prominent figure in Conceptual Art, Baldessari's process focuses on the perception and interpretation of visual elements and text, while often employing irony to make playful assertions about how meanings are formed. His work has been shown in more than 120 solo exhibitions and 300 group exhibitions. A major retrospective appeared at Tate Modern, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2009–10. John Baldessari was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2007. He lives and works in Santa Monica, California. Solo exhibitions 2012 John Baldessari, Mӧnchehaus Museum Goslar, Goslar, Germany John Baldessari: A Print Retrospective from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation,Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego La Jolla, La Jolla, California Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France 2011 John Baldessari: Double Feature,Sprüth Magers Berlin, Berlin, Germany John Baldessari: Double Vision, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland John Baldessari: Your Name in Lights, Australian Museum, William Street façade. Sydney, Australia. Project with Kaldor Art Projects, presented as part of the Sydney Festival (Kaldor Art Project #23). Traveled to Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 2010 John Baldessari: The Giacometti Variations, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy. Specific works exhibited on rotation. John Baldessari: Sediment (Part 2), Marian Goodman Gallery, New York John Baldessari: Foot and Stocking (With Big Toe Exposed), Gemini G.E.L. Los Angeles, California. Traveled to Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl, New York John Baldessari: Sediment, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, Califonia John Baldessari: Blue Line (Holbein), Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California 2009 John Baldessari: Hands and/or Feet (Part Two), Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany John Baldessari: Hands and/or Feet (Part One), Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France John Baldessari: Pure Beauty, Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom. Traveled to Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York John Baldessari: Ear Sofa; Nose Sconces with Flowers (in Stage Setting), Sprüth Magers, London, United Kingdom John Baldessari: A Print Retrospective from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California John Baldessari: Raised Eyebrow / Furrowed Foreheads: Part IV, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland John Baldessari: Raised Eyebrow / Furrowed Foreheads: Part III, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels, Belgium John Baldessari: Raised Eyebrow / Furrowed Foreheads: Part II, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal John Baldessari: BRICK BLDG, LG WINDOWS W/ XLENT VIEWS, PARTIALLY FURNISHED, RENOWNED ARCHITECT, Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, Germany 2008 John Baldessari: Raised Eyebrow / Furrowed Foreheads, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York John Baldessari and Koen Van Den Broek: This an Example of That, Galerie Greta Meert and Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht (two parts in two locations). Brussels, Belgium, and Maastricht, The Netherlands John Baldessari: BACA Laureate 2008, Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands John Baldessari and Matt Mullican: Pong, Tracy Williams Ltd., New York John Baldessari: Arms & Legs (Specif. Elbows & Knees), Etc., Part II, Galería Pepe Cobo. Madrid, Spain 2007 John Baldessari: Beethoven's Trumpet; In One Ear and Out the Same Ear, The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois John Baldessari and Alejandro Cesarco: Retrospective, Murray Guy, New York Exhibition featuring collaborative work made with Alejandro Cesarco John Baldessari: Arms & Legs (Specif. Elbows & Knees), Etc., Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France John Baldessari: Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Four), Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland John Baldessari: Music, curated by Stephan Gronert, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany. Presented in conjunction with Beethoven's Trumpet; In One Ear and Out the Same Ear at the Bonner Kunstverein John Baldessari: Beethoven's Trumpet; In One Ear and Out the Same Ear, curated by Christina Végh, Bonner Kunstverein. Bonn, Germany. Presented in conjunction with "Music" at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany John Baldessari: Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Three), Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California John Baldessari: Eden: Adam and Eve (With Ear and Nose) Plus Serpent, Portikus. Frankfurt am Main, Germany 2006 John Baldessari: Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Two), Marian Goodman Gallery, New York John Baldessari: The Prima Facie Series, organized by Ann Cesteleyn, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium John Baldessari: Composition for Violin and Voices (Male), 1987, Une œuvre de la collection, Musée d'Art Contemporain Lyon. Lyon, France John Baldessari: Noses & Ears, Etc. Cristina Guerra, Lisbon, Portugal John Baldessari: Prima Facie (Fifth State) Sprüth, Magers, Lee Gallery, London, United Kingdom John Baldessari: Works 1982 – 1991, Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France 2005 John Baldessari: Prima Facie (Fourth State) Galerie Meert Rihoux, Brussels, Belgium John Baldessari: Prima Facie (Third State), Galería Pepe Cobo, Madrid, Spain John Baldessari: From Life, Carré d'Art Musée d'Art Contemporain, Nimes, France John Baldessari: Prima Facie (Second State), Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland John Baldessari: Prima Facie,Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California John Baldessari: The Blockage Series, Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France John Baldessari: Life's Balance: Works 84-04,Kunsthaus Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria John Baldessari: A Different Kind of Order (Works 1962-1984), MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Austria 2004 John Baldessari: Somewhere Between Almost Right and Not Quite (With Orange), organized by Tracey Bashkoff, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany. Traveled to Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen, Bremen, Germany John Baldessari, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York John Baldessari: Recent Maquettes & Prints, Art Affairs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2003 John Baldessari: Vertical/Horizontal Series, Bernier/Eliades, Athens, Greece John Baldessari: The Duress Series, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich Switzerland John Baldessari: Editionen, Galerie Gabriele Völkers, Hamburg, Germany 2002 John Baldessari: Junctions and Intersections, Monika Sprüth Philomene Magers, Cologne, Germany John Baldessari: Junctions and Intersections, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California John Baldessari, Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France 2001 John Baldessari: The Overlap Series, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland 2000 John Baldessari, curated by Gabriella Belli, Museo d'Arte Moderna Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Trento, Italy John Baldessari: Selections from: The Goya Series - The Tetrad Series - The Elbow Series, Galerie Meert Rihoux, Brussels, Belgium 1999 Baldessari: While Something Is Happening Here, Something Else Is Happening There: Works 1988 - 1999, curated by Thomas Weski, Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hanover, Germany. Traveled to Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden, Germany John Baldessari: Tetrad Series, Marian Goodman Gallery. New York Ich habe es gesehen: Baldessari und Goya, Albertina im Akademiehof, Vienna, Austria 1998 John Baldessari: The Commissioned Paintings, Sonnabend Gallery, New York John Baldessari: Recent Works, Charim Klocker. Vienna, Austria Baldessari: 4 RMS W VU: Wallpaper, Lamps, and Plants. New, Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art. Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Presented concurrently with and in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. Traveled to Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain John Baldessari, Mai 36 Galerir, Zurich, Switzerland John Baldessari: The Goya Series, Sonnabend Gallery, New York 1997 John Baldessari, Theoretical Events, Naples, Italy John Baldessari: National City: Paintings from 1967 and 1996, Galerie Philomene Magers, Cologne, Germany John Baldessari: The Goya Series, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California John Baldessari, Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France John Baldessari: 1990-1996, Galerie Laage-Salomon, Paris, France 1996 John Baldessari, Galeria Pedro Oliveira, Porto, Portugal John Baldessari Recent Works, Galerie Meert Rihoux, Brussels, Belgium John Baldessari: National City, curated by Hugh M. Davies and Andrea Hales, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, California John Baldessari, Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst in Wien, Vienna, Austria John Baldessari, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland 1995 This Not That, Cornerhouse, Manchester, United Kingdom. Traveled to Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom; Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany; Moderna Galleria Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Museet for Samtidskunst, Oslo, Norway; Centro de Arte Moderna José de Azeredo Perdigão, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal John Baldessari: New Work, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California 1994 Artist's Choice: John Baldessari, e.g. Grass, Water Heater, Mouths, & etc. (for John Graham), The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1990 Artist's Choice: John Baldessari, e.g. Grass, Water Heater, Mouths, & etc. (for John Graham), The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1989 Ni por Ésas / Not Even So: John Baldessari, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Madrid, Spain. Traveled to CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain, Bordeaux, France, as John Baldessari: Oeuvres de 1966 à 1988,; IVAM, Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia, Spain 1986 John Baldessari: Matrix 94, University Art Museum, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 1985 John Baldessari, organized by Le Coin du Miroir (Dijon, France), Le Consortium, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Dijon, France 1981 John Baldessari: Work 1966 - 1980, organized by Marcia Tucker, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. Traveled as John Baldessari: Werken 1966 - 1981, Municipal Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands; Museum Folkwang Essen, Essen, West Germany; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas Group Exhibitions 2015 America is Hard to See, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 2011 Light Years: Conceptual Art and the Photograph, 1964-1977, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois It Happened at Pomona: Art at the Edge of Los Angeles, 1969-1973, Part 2: Helene Winer at Pomona, Pomona College Museum of Art. Claremont, California State of Mind: New California Art Circa 1970, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California Pacific Standard Time: Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, 1950-1970, J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles, California. Traveled to Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany 11 Rooms, curated by Klaus Biesenbach and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester International Festival, Manchester, United Kingdom Legacy: The Emily Fisher Landau Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Traveled as Legacy: Selections from Emily Fisher Landau's Gift to the Whitney Museum of American Art to the Fisher Landau Center for Art, Long Island City, New York 2010 How Soon Now, Rubell Family Collection / Contemporary Arts Foundation, Miami, Florida The City Proper, curated by James Welling, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California IVAM: Donaciones, IVAM, Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia, Spain Hide and Seek, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Outside the Box: Edition Jacob Samuel, 1988 – 2010, Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California Disquieted, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon The View from Here, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California 2009 Collection: MOCA's First Thirty Years, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California Collecting History: Highlighting Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California Sculpture, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, California In & Out of Amsterdam: Art & Project Bulletin, 1968–1989, Museum of Modern Art, New York Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-78, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington La Biennale di Venezia: 53. Exposizione Internazionale d'Arte: Fare Mundi, Venice, Italy Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West, Museum of Modern Art, New York 2008 The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, California California Video, curated by Glenn Phillips, J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles, California Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today, organized by Ann Temkin, Museum of Modern Art, New York. Traveled to Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom BCAM at LACMA: The Inaugural Installation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California Collecting Collections: Highlights from the Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 2007 What is Painting? Contemporary Art from the Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York Hammer Contemporary Collection: Part I, Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California Learn to Read, Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom Not For Sale, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York 2006 Red Eye: L.A. Artists from the Rubell Family Collection, Rubell Family Collection, Miami, Florida Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California Los Angeles 1955-1985: Birth of an Art Capital, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. Joy Pop! Pop Art 1960's - 2000s: From Lichtenstein, Warhol to the Current Generation, Sieji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation, Work Groups and Installations, Museum Für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Switzerland 2005 The Fluidity of Time: Selections from the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois Drawing from the Modern 1975 – 2005, Museum of Modern Art, New York The Blake Byrne Collection,Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California Big Bang Centre Pompidou, Paris, France Open Systems: Rethinking Art c.1970, Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom 2004 Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Form, 1940s – 70s, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California. Traveled to Miami Art Museum, Miami, Florida (catalogue) Small: the Object in Film, Video, and Slide Installation, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, includes John Baldessari, Matthew Higgs, Sol LeWitt, Jonathan Monk, Alan Phelan, Michael Snow, and Rirkrit Tiravanija California Dreaming, films by Kenneth Anger, John Baldessari, Will Handle, David Lamelas, and Ed Ruscha, Whitney Museum of Art, New York Derrere els fets: Interfunktionen 1968-1975 (Behind the Facts: Interfunktionen 1968-1975), Foundació Joan Miró. Barcelona, Spain. Traveled to Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany 2003 Jede Fotographie Ein Bild Seimens Fotosammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne, Sammlung Moderne Kunst, Munich, Germany (catalogue) Utopia Station, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy The Last Picture Show: Artists Using Photography, 1960 – 1982, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Traveled to UCLA Hammer Museum (Catalogue) Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art from the Broad Collections, Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain Video Acts: Single Channel Works From the Collections of Pamela and Richard Kramlich and New Art Trust, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York (catalogue) 2002 Comer o no Comer (To Eat or Not to Eat), Centro de Arts de Salamanca, Spain (catalogue) Life, Death, Love, Hate, Pleasure, Pain: Selected Works from the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois (catalogue) Límites de la Percepción, Foundació Joan Miró. Barcelona, Spain Kunst Nach Kunst (Art After Art), curated by Pete Friese, Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen, Bremen, Germany (catalogue) Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art from the Broad Collections, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts Visions From America: Photographs From The Whitney Museum Of American Art, 1940-2001, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (catalogue) Conceptual Art in the Netherlands and Belgium 1965-1975 from Dutch and Belgian Collections, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands Museum Unserer Wunsche (Museum of Our Wishes), Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany. Exhibition of art in permanent collection (catalogue) 2001 Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art from the Broad Collections, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California. Traveled to Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain Seeing, Boone Children's Gallery, LACMA West, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California Tele[visions]: Kunst Sieht Fern, curated by Joshua Decter, guest curator, Kunsthalle Wein, Wein, Austria (catalogue) 2000 Departures: 11 Arists at the GettyThe J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California (catalogue); Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland, "Quartett." 1999 Crosscurrents: New Art from MoMA Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan. Catalogue w/text by Robert Storr Sight Gags, Grotesque, Charicature, and Wit in Modern and Contemporary Drawing The Museum of Modern Art, New York Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin 1950s - 1980s, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York (catalogue) Circa 1968, Museu Serralves, Museu De Arte Contemporanea, Porto, Portugal June- September (Catalogue) Trouble Spot. Painting, MUHKA Antwerp, Belgium (catalogue) 1998 Big As Life: American History of 8mm Film, Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Cinematheque, San Francisco, California Kunst ohne Unikat, Künstlerhaus Graz, Graz, Austria Artificial: Figuracions Contemporànies, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Double Trouble: The Patchett Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, California. Traveled to Museo de las Artes and Insituto Cultural Cabañas, Guadalajara, Mexico; Museo de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico; Museo Universitario Contemporáneo de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico; Auditorio de Galicia and Iglesia Santa Domingos de Bonaval, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Sala Amós Salvador, Logroño, Spain 1997 La Biennale di Venezia: 47th International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy (catalogue) Scene of the Crime, UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, California (catalogue) Sunshine & Noir. Art in L.A. 1960-1997 Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark (catalogue). Traveled to Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, Germany; Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy; Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Rome, Italy; UCLA Arm and Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California Livres d'Artistes: L'invention d'un Genre 1960-1980, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France 1996 Painting into Photography: Photography into Painting, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida Hall of Mirrors: Art and Film since 1945, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Traveled to Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois Comme un oiseau, Foundation Cartier pour l'art contemporain. Paris, France. The Reflected Image: A Selection of Contemporary Photography from the LAC Collection, Switzerland, Centro Per L'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy 1995 1965-1975: Reconsidering the Object of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 1993 Konstruktion Zitat: Kollektive Bilder in der Fotographie, Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hanover, Germany 1992 More than One Photographer: Works since 1980 from the Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York 1991 Devil on the Stairs; Looking Back at the Eighties, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. Curated by Robert Storr. Traveled to Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California 1990 Art in Europe and America: The 1960s and 1970s, Wexner Center for the Visual Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1986 Individuals: A Selected History of Contemporary Art 1945-1986, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California 1 Like Share