There are just a few days left to see a magnificent show at the Met, John Baldessari: Pure Beauty. The California-born Baldessari is widely renowned as a pioneer of conceptual art– and is one of the most influential contemporary artists of the last half-century.
This show (in the Cantor exhibition hall on the second floor) surveys his career and features 120 works of art, bringing together the full range of his innovative work across many mediums. Baldessari, born in National City, California in 1931, started off as a painter and then moved into combining photographs with text and other imagery in the 1980s.
In the 90s, he began doing large-scale installations and videos, some which are playing in the galleries. One memorable one features the artist himself saying one line about art, over and over again.
The entire show is mesmerizing, and you’ll see how Baldessari’s approach has expanded the parameters of what is considered art, and you’ll get a dose of his unique sense of humor.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Ave, New York, through January 9, 2011
