JOHN BALDESSARI

 

Born 1931, National City, California; lives in Santa Monica, California.

 

John Baldessari, often called the “godfather” of conceptual art, received his BA (1953) and MFA (1957) from San Diego State College and completed his post-graduate education at Otis Art Institute and Chouinard Art Institute, both in Los Angeles.

 

Early in his career, John Baldesarri printed bold text statements on canvas; today this work is noted as some of the earliest examples of conceptual art. Baldessari combines photomontage, painting, and language to further examine the interplay of words and images, as well as expand the function of the image itself. He explores his fascination with the photographic image by means of appropriation, deconstruction, and juxtaposition.

 

John Baldessari is represented widely in museums all over the globe. He has received numerous honorary doctorates and participated in countless exhibitions. In 2009, Baldessari had a major retrospective entitled “Pure Beauty” at the Tate Modern, London, that traveled to Museum of Comtemporary Art, Barcelona, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.