Mel Bochner experimented with a range of styles before finding his eventual success as a pioneer in Conceptual art. An audacious 1966 show at School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan that he presented, “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art,” remains a seminal touchstone for Conceptualism.
Bochner was born to a Pittsburgh sign painter in 1940. While attending the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon) in the late 1950s, he studied color theory and modernist movements as well as classical drawing, a balance that was formative in his career. After graduation, he moved to San Francisco, creating paintings influenced by Clyfford Still and Jean Dubuffet.
It wasn’t until Bochner “found his way out of the labyrinth of late Abstract Expressionism,” as he put it to The Brooklyn Rail, that he began to create his most meaningful work. Following a stint auditing philosophy classes after a friend introduced him to the work of Heidegger, Bochner relocated to New York, finding work as a guard at the Jewish Museum. In Manhattan, he ran in the same circles as Dan Flavin, Brice Marden and Donald Judd.
“One of the conversations going on in New York in the late ’60s was about the relationship of the object to the art experience,” Bochner said. “...Younger artists like myself were talking about what it would mean to eliminate the object altogether.” This idea would become the foundation of the Conceptual movement, in which Bochner was instrumental. The artist is probably best known for his text-focused paintings, including a series that plays with the phrase “Blah Blah Blah.” He produces work that regards art as an experience, rather than an object, centering on the process of creation and viewership as opposed to the finished product.
Bochner’s “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art” featured drawings, notes and outlines from the likes of Milton Glaser, Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt and others as well as pages from Scientific American. Bochner, then an art history professor at SVA, photocopied the assemblage of works, added them to binders and positioned them on pedestals for the exhibition because the show’s organizers lacked the funds to frame the pieces.
Bochner’s works can be found in the collections of many major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Find original Mel Bochner prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Blah, Blah, Blah (Limited Edition face mask with Bochner's most famous text)
By Mel Bochner
Located in New York, NY
Brand new in original sealed packaging (not shown) - never opened MEL BOCHNER Blah, Blah, Blah Limited Edition Mask, 2021 Machine washable lightweight fabric with three layers of pro...
Textile, Cotton, Mixed Media, Screen
$625
H 70 in W 60 in
Jeff Koons Monkey Train beach towel (Jeff Koons Monkey Train blue)
By Jeff Koons
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Jeff Koons Monkey Train beach towel 2008: A highly decorative limited edition 2008 Jeff Koons Monkey Train towel. Measuring 70x60 inches - this work would look outstanding framed. This outstanding Jeff Koons Monkey Train collectible...
Cotton, Digital, Lithograph, Screen
$2,000
H 19 in W 15 in D 1 in
A Better Life or Your Money Back, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
Room Temperature, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Paper, Mixed Media, Cotton, Graphite
$409
H 16.54 in W 14.97 in
Barbara Kruger, Never Enough - Screenprint on Cotton Bag
By Barbara Kruger
Located in Hamburg, DE
Barbara Kruger (American, b. 1945) Never Enough, 2019 Medium: Screenprint in on cotton Dimensions: 42 x 38 cm (16 1/2 x 15 in) Edition of 200: Not signed, not numbered Condition: Exc...
Cotton, Screen
$980
H 24 in W 20 in D 1 in
Close Before Striking IX. Mixed Media Abstract Portraits on Paper
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magazines...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
$1,500
H 19 in W 15 in D 1 in
She Knew She Would Not Be The Same, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
Body Temperature, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
Parched Leaves, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Cotton, Mixed Media, Graphite, Paper
$1,500
H 19 in W 15 in D 1 in
Don't Forget to Breathe Again, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
Soñar Con Cortinas, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
$1,500
H 19 in W 15 in D 1 in
Soñar Que Tiene Las Manos Muy Grandes, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Soñar Que Tiene Las Manos Muy Grandes, 2014 Found images transferred to acetate film, collage, acrylics, and graphite. Mixed Media on %100 Cotton Paper Imag...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
1000 Miligrams, Mixed Media Collage Portrait
By Roberto Fonfria
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Fonfria's work explores human behavior and social rules with a critical eye and humor, touching on personal themes such as dreams, fears, and memories. The images come from old magaz...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Graphite
Sold
H 3.9 in W 7.9 in D 0.3 in
Blah, Blah, Blah (Limited Edition face mask with Bochner's most famous text)
By Mel Bochner
Located in New York, NY
Brand new in original sealed packaging (not shown) - never opened MEL BOCHNER Blah, Blah, Blah Limited Edition Mask, 2021 Machine washable lightweight fabric with three layers of pro...
Textile, Cotton, Screen, Mixed Media