Although Conceptual artist John Baldessari is best known for the richly provocative juxtapositions of photographic images and text that characterize his prints and paintings, he actually had something of a traditional art world upbringing — if such a thing exists.
Born in Southern California, Baldessari earned several art degrees, from art education to art history to painting. He also taught art at various institutions such as the California Institute of the Arts throughout his life. Among his many students were David Salle, Tony Oursler, Jim Shaw and Mike Kelley. While helping to shape the art world in Los Angeles, he simultaneously developed his own name as an artist.
In the 1950s, Baldessari’s works were primarily semiabstract paintings, but during the late 1960s, he began to distance himself from painting, as he bristled at the idea of limiting art to a single medium. Baldessari decided to take his career in a dramatically different direction. He burned all his paintings at a funeral home in San Diego, then incorporated the ashes into cookie dough, producing (nonedible) baked goods for an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
“It was a very public and symbolic act,” he said, “like announcing you’re going on a diet in order to stick to it.”
From that point on, Baldessari took on an MO of experimentation, dabbling in mediums from video to printmaking to sculpture. “I just stare at something and say: Why isn’t that art? Why couldn’t that be art?” he said in an interview in 2008.
The works for which Baldessari is most highly regarded, however, are striking collages of images and text — many of which are seemingly nonsensical — such as Tom’s Hand Grips the Steering, Wheel… (2015), in which the title’s text is displayed beneath a hippopotamus. As such is his body of work: bringing a sense of joviality to the sometimes too-serious world of Conceptual art.
Before he died in 2020, Baldessari was honored with the 2014 National Medal of Arts Award, the Americans for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award, the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and more.
Find original John Baldessari art on 1stDibs.
Artwork on Paper, 'Heart (with Pearls)' by John Baldessari
By John Baldessari
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Romantic and whimsical "Heart (with Pearls)" by John Baldessari, 1991. Photograuve and aquatint in colors on Somerset 410 Satin. The image measures 36 - 3/8"H x 39 - 6/8"W, and sheet...
Glass
John Baldessari 'Raised Eyebrows/Furrowed Foreheads/Figure with Globe', 2009
By John Baldessari
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Artist: John Baldessari (American, born 1931) Title: 'Raised Eyebrows/Furrowed Foreheads/Figure with Globe' Year: 2009 Medium: 9-Color Silkscreen on Fabriano paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 33 of 70 Publisher: Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles Size: 32" x 31" Biography: John Baldessari is an American Conceptual artist known for his pioneering use of appropriated imagery. By blending photography, painting, and text, Baldessari’s work examines the plastic nature of artistic media while offering commentary on our contemporary culture. “I’ve often thought of myself as a frustrated writer,” he explained. “I consider a word and an image of equal weight, and a lot of my work comes out of that kind of thinking.” Through a diverse practice that includes paintings, sculpture, and installations, the artist shaped the Conceptual Art landscape alongside Joseph Kosuth and Hans Haacke...
$760Sale Price|20% Off
H 26.13 in W 33.63 in D 1.13 in
Framed Lithograph Landscape with View of the Lake and Boats Signed
By Henri Martin
Located in Miami, FL
A very colorful lithograph professionally framed, signed. This interesting work of art is attributed to Bernard Gatner. Will enhance any space. Measures: 26 1/8" H x 33 5/8" W x 1...
Paper
$7,345
H 13.78 in W 11.23 in D 1.19 in
Rare Wes Lang Chateau Marmont Contemporary Ink on Paper Artwork, 2009
By Wes Lang
Located in Stockholm, SE
Rare "Hi There" contemporary artwork / ink on paper by Wes Lang from the iconic Chateau Marmont series, 2009. In great condition. Professionally framed in oak and signed on the back....
Glass, Oak, Paper
Iridescent Oil Paint and Wax on Paper by James Nares
By James Nares
Located in Stamford, CT
Unique oil paint and wax on paper by James Nares ( British, b. 1953 ). Untitled. circa 2008. Archivally framed in a 12-karat white gold frame.
Paper
John Luke Eastman "One Mind" Serigraph
By John Luke Eastman
Located in Van Nuys, CA
A lithograph by 1970s psychedelic master John Luke Eastman, who worked out of Southern California during the 1960s-1980s. The print features a young woman who gazes at herself in the...
Paper
$850
H 36 in W 36 in D 0.19 in
"1 H Sustaining, " Limited Edition Print by Renée Rey from a Series of Four
Located in Plainview, NY
"1 H Sustaining," is an orange, white and gray archival Fine Art print in a limited edition of 75 by Renée Rey. Each signed Archival Pigment numbered work is printed on hot press rag...
Paper
Queen of Hearts Paper Sculpture by Kay Wahlgren
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Beautiful meticulously constructed paper sculpture with layers of cut paper to give a 3 dimensional quality to the subject, the Queen of Hearts playing card...
Glass, Paper
Sarah Sze Images in Debris Limited Edition Print
By Phaidon
Located in New York, NY
Archival pigment print on Moab Entrada 290gsm Measures: 23.75 x 18.75 in 60.3 x 47.6 cm Edition of 100 This work is signed and numbered by the artist, (2016) Images in Debris depicts time lapse photographs of the sky, taken by the artist, at sunrise and sunset. The images, captured digitally, are then printed via a 4-color screen printing process. Each color separation is screen printed and then smeared while the ink is still wet, foregrounding a handmade process that involves tactility, registration, wetness, and specificity of touch. The images of the sun at dusk and dawn are at once universal and highly specific, recording a period of time on a particular day and in a particular place. By objectively recording the images and then breaking them apart and putting them back together, Sze explores the fragility of time passing and our desire for intimacy and touch in the face of both overwhelming natural forces and the ubiquitous images that surround us daily. Sarah Sze...
Paper
Lubaina Himid: Theatre of the Divine Limited Edition Print
By Phaidon
Located in New York, NY
Print: Full color digital archival print on Epson Hot Press Natural 330g/m2 Size: 610 x 508 mm (24 x 20 in) Edition of 100 This work will come with a signed and numbered archival label adhered to the back of the print. (2019) Produced with the support of Kering, a global luxury group committed to the empowerment of women, this charitable limited-edition print is part of a portfolio celebrating Phaidon's Great Women Artists, the most extensive illustrated book on women artists ever published. The book tells the stories of over 400 artists spanning 500 years and reveals a parallel yet equally engaging history of art for an age that champions a great diversity of voices. The Great Women Artists print portfolio offers collectors the opportunity to acquire affordable works by some of the most celebrated and sought-after women artists of our time, while contributing to a worthy cause. A pioneer of the British Black Arts Movement of the 1980s and '90s, Lubaina Himid...
Paper
Abstract Artwork by Miriam Kubach
By Miriam Kubach
Located in Atlanta, GA
Abstract charcoal drawing by Miriam Kubach, American, circa 1960s. Similar to works by Louise Bourgeois from the same era. It is executed on paper and has been professionally framed ...
Glass, Wood, Paper
Signed Figural Abstract Aquatint Colored Etching
Located in Chicago, IL
Vivid color and intricate design are the focal points of this aquatint colored etching print numbered 2 of 4. Signed I.P.I.
Metal
Robert Mangold Silkscreen "Yellow Curled Figure"
By Robert Mangold
Located in Stamford, CT
Yellow curled figure a silkscreen by Robert Mangold. Produced by Pace Editions, New York, 2002. Signed and Numbered 10/10 in pencil. Full sheet. 29 3/8" X 36" Framed using acid free ...
Paper
Olga Vladimirovna Rozanova Watercolor on Paper
Located in Pasadena, TX
Olga Rozanova "Abstract Geometrics" watercolor on paper (Russian, 1886-1918) Rozanova was born on June 22, 1886, in the small town of Melenki near Vladimir, Russia. After finishing at the Vladimir Women’s Gymnasium in 1904, she studied painting in Moscow. Dissatisfied with the “wretched system of instruction” at the state-run Stroganov Academy of Arts and Industry, she transferred to Konstantin Yuon’s private school, where she met Liubov Popova...
Paper
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H 12.25 in W 15.5 in D 1 in
John Baldessari Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line, 1973
By John Baldessari
Located in Stamford, CT
John Baldessari 1931-2019 "Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts)", 1973 Complete portfolio of twelve offset lithographs in colors, on...
Paper
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H 38 in W 34 in D 0.5 in
Contemporary Unframed "Valentine" by John Baldessari Signed Dated 2015 32/50
By John Baldessari
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
For your consideration is a marvelous, unframed 16 color screen-print, entitled "Valentine," by John Baldessari, signed, dated 2015 and numbered 32/50. In excellent condition. The di...