John Baldessari 1939-2020

John Baldessari was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. By blending photography, painting, and text, Baldessari’s work examines the plastic nature of artistic media while offering commentary on our contemporary culture. Through a diverse practice that includes painting, sculpture, and installation, the artist shared the Conceptual Art landscape alongside Joseph Kosuth and Hans Haacke, garnering early acclaim for his signature use of colorful dots atop photographic images.
The celebrated artist was a recipient of the Americans for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement awarded by Venice Biennale. In 2010, the artist was the subject of a retrospective “John Baldessari: Pure Beauty” which included more than 150 works made between 1962 and 2010. The artist passed away at age 88 on January 2, 2020 at his home in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. Baldessari’s works are currently held in the collections several museums including the art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washinton, D.C., and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others.