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JOHN BALDESSARI - Throwing Three Balls... Skate Deck Modern Design Contemporary2025
2025
$986.57
£734.31
€825
CA$1,372.85
A$1,497.43
CHF 786.64
MX$18,115.83
NOK 9,841.10
SEK 9,291.96
DKK 6,281.22
About the Item
JOHN BALDESSARI - Throwing Three Balls in the Air to get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts)
Date of creation: 2025
Medium: Digital print on Canadian maple wood
Edition: 30
Size: 80 x 20 cm (each skate)
Condition: In mint conditions and never displayed
This limited series of skateboards is inspired by Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts), one of John Baldessari’s most iconic works. Created in 1973, the piece consists of 36 photographs taken during a fascinating experiment: Baldessari threw three orange balls into the air, attempting to align them in a straight line while his wife, Carol Wixom, captured each attempt. Of these 36 throws, 12 images were selected to form the final series.
The work embodies several key concepts of Baldessari’s conceptual art: the constant tension between chance and control, the subtle irony in the pursuit of perfection, and the ability to transform an everyday gesture into artistic reflection. Throwing three balls into the air might seem like a trivial experiment—or even a game—but in Baldessari’s hands, it becomes a clever commentary on perception and expectation. The composition, minimalist yet powerful, combines the infinite blue of the Californian sky with the vibrant orange of the balls, creating a visual contrast that is both simple and striking. Each selected image captures a fleeting moment in which precision seems almost impossible, reminding us that art resides not only in the final result but also in the boldness of the attempt. With humor and conceptual clarity, Baldessari encourages the viewer to contemplate not only what they see but also what could have been, exploring the boundary between control, chance, and perception.
The limited edition skateboards consist of 30 sets, each made up of three skateboards that together reproduce one of the selected photographs from the original work. Each skateboard displays an orange ball in mid-air, so the complete set faithfully recreates the image in a visually striking way. It’s a surprising and enjoyable way to bring conceptual art into the tangible world: you can admire the composition in your living room, your studio… or even enjoy it in motion on wheels.
In essence, this limited edition captures Baldessari’s philosophy: the beauty of art lies as much in the boldness of the attempt as in the result, chance and precision can coexist, and a simple act—throwing three balls into the air—can be transformed into an object of reflection and visual enjoyment. It is a unique opportunity to experience conceptual art in a dynamic, striking, and elegant format.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
John Baldessari (National City, California, 1931 – Los Angeles, 2020) was one of the most influential figures in contemporary art and a key force in establishing Conceptual Art in the United States. His work, poised between irony and erudition, reshaped our understanding of the relationship between image and language, challenging artistic conventions and opening paths that remain essential today.
Born to a family of European immigrants—his mother from Denmark and his father from Austria—he grew up in modest circumstances, far from the established art capitals. That distance from the traditional centers of culture shaped his outlook: he always regarded institutions with a blend of humor, irreverence, and critical sharpness. He studied art at San Diego State University and soon realized he did not want to confine himself to making conventional paintings.
A defining moment came in 1970, when he burned much of his early output in an action he titled the Cremation Project. With this symbolic gesture, he declared his intention to move beyond traditional painting and to focus instead on probing the very boundaries of art. From then on, he explored the intersections of photography, text, and collage, creating works that destabilized familiar modes of representation.
Baldessari became a master at using language as image and image as language. His photographs combined with textual fragments—phrases that appeared simple yet resonated with philosophical undertones—challenged both what we think we see and what we think we understand. He also developed his signature strategy of obscuring faces with colored dots: by erasing identity, he forced viewers to pay attention to everything else, shifting emphasis from the obvious to the overlooked.
His work never lost its sense of humor or its capacity to surprise. Baldessari often said art should be as serious as it is playful, and this fusion of intellectual rigor with wit made him a singular figure. His pieces invite audiences into a realm of clues, paradoxes, and visual puns that unsettle our certainties about what it means “to look.”
Beyond his artistic practice, he was an extraordinary teacher. At the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), he mentored generations of artists who later became major voices, including David Salle and Barbara Kruger. His teaching was as influential as his art: rather than imparting techniques, he encouraged students to think, to question, and to find their own vision.
His career gained international recognition. In 2009 he received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale, and major institutions such as MoMA in New York, Tate Modern in London, and Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid have dedicated retrospectives to his work. Despite his acclaim, he always maintained a spirit of irreverence and accessibility, insisting that art should not be placed on an untouchable pedestal.
John Baldessari passed away in 2020 in Los Angeles, leaving behind a vast legacy. His work reminds us that art can be a site of critical reflection and, at the same time, a space for irony and play. He managed to mock conventions without trivializing them, and to turn the everyday into a laboratory of visual thought. In his hands, words and images learned to converse in unexpected ways—and audiences learned to see the world anew.
- Creation Year:2025
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60 cm)Depth: 0.79 in (2 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- After:John Baldessari (1931, American)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Madrid, ES
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1033116989772
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