John Baldessari

John Baldessari: Money (with Space Between), from the series A French Horn Player, A Square Blue Moon, and Other Subjects, 1994. Courtesy of The Estate of John Baldessari.

John Baldessari, French Horn Player (with Three Contexts One Uncoded), from the series A French Horn Player, A Square Blue Moon, and Other Subjects, 1994. Courtesy of The Estate of John Baldessari.

John Baldessari, Two Unfinished Letters, 1992-1993. Courtesy of The Estate of John Baldessari.

John Baldessari, The Intersection Series: Statue/Bound Person, 2002. Courtesy of The Estate of John Baldessari.

John Baldessari, The Intersection Series: Hand (with cigarette), Bottle, Buns/Astronaut (with four other persons), 2001. Courtesy of The Estate of John Baldessari.

John Baldessari, Noses & Ears, Etc.: Couple and Man with Gun, 2007. Courtesy of The Estate of John Baldessari.

John Baldessari, Raised Eyebrows/Furrowed Foreheads: Two Foreheads (One Green), 2009. Courtesy of The Estate of John Baldessari.

Master of Appropriation

Found Photography in the Work of John Baldessari from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation

Extended through August 30, 2020

View the curatorial tour: part 1 & part 2 now online!

Blue Sky is pleased to present a solo exhibition of work by John Baldessari from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation that highlights the iconic conceptual artist's use of photography from the 1980s into the 2010s. Master of Appropriation comes at a pivotal time after Baldessari's passing earlier this year, as we reflect upon his many contributions to the canon of contemporary art.

Since the 1970s, the artist's use of photography has taken many different forms, with the constant through-line being his signature wit and critical voice. All of the the works in Master of Appropriation contain found photographs, including vintage film stills, news images, and fashion runway photos that Baldessari collected and reconfigured into new compositions and narratives. The artist’s playful repurposing of these images, often accompanied by text or combined with painting and printmaking techniques, reveals that a photograph’s meaning is never static and instead is tied intrinsically to its context.

John Baldessari was born in National City, California in 1931. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1953 from San Diego State College. After a year of advanced art history studies at the University of California, Berkley, Baldessari returned to San Diego State College where he received his Master of Arts in Painting in 1957. He proceeded to engage in post-graduate work at Chouinard Art Institute and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Baldessari taught at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA from 1970-1988 and UCLA from 1996-2007.

Baldessari's artwork has been featured in more than 300 solo exhibitions and in over 1000 group exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe. His projects include unique works, prints, artist books, videos, films, billboards and public works. His awards and honors include the 2014 National Medal of Arts Award, an award from the International Print Center New York in 2016, memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Americans for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, awarded by La Biennale di Venezia, the City of Goslar Kaiserring in 2012, and the BACA International 2008. He has received honorary degrees from the National University of Ireland, San Diego State University and Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design. Baldessari passed away on Thursday, January 2, 2020 in his Venice, CA home.

Master of Appropriation is curated by Zemie Barr, Exhibitions Manager at Blue Sky, and generously supported by The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation/Arlene Schnitzer and Jordan Schnitzer.

About the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation:
At age 14, Jordan D. Schnitzer bought his first work of art from his mother’s Portland, Oregon contemporary art gallery, evolving into a lifelong avocation as collector. He began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in earnest in 1988. Today, the collection exceeds 14,000 works and includes many of today’s most important contemporary artists. It has grown to be one of the country’s largest private print collections. He generously lends work from his collection to qualified institutions. The Foundation has organized over 110 exhibitions and has had art exhibited at over 150 museums. Mr. Schnitzer is also President of Harsch Investment Properties, a privately owned real estate investment company based in Portland, Oregon, owning and managing office, multi-tenant industrial, multi-family and retail properties in six western states. For more information about the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, please visit jordanschnitzer.org.