The inaugural show of 鈥檚 brand-new Los Angeles gallery space, John Baldessari, opened in late February and will run until the 9听April. Having听exhibited Baldessari鈥檚 work for over 30听years, it seems only fitting that a presentation of his work听would open this latest venture.
The works, created in the past year, examine the relationship between language and image, primarily through dislocation听and听the juxtaposing text and pictures.听The playfulness of this juxtaposition seeps in and out of his work, at times in the form of gleeful defiance, as in earlier pieces such as听Wrong鈥檚 (1966-68) contradiction of photographic 鈥榬ules,鈥 or as a more biting criticism of an art world out of touch, with Pictures and Scripts听(2014), which features still frames from black-and-white films coupled with imaginary lines from a screenplay.
This latest series of images combines seemingly听mundane photographs, edited with bright blocks of colour, with similarly mundane snippets of text. The effect of these can vary. In some pieces, such as Ben鈥檚 Jacket Drapes鈥 (2015), the phrase 鈥淏EN鈥橲 JACKET DRAPES PERFECTLY OVER HIS SHOULDER鈥 is coupled with an utterly unconnected image of a woman in a deckchair, heavily edited by Baldessari with colour. The coupling of two completely different 鈥榯exts鈥 invites the viewer to look for similarities and links between the two aspects of the piece, as well as trying to find significance in one or both of them.
In other works, however, the effect is more subtle. Hey Glen You Want To鈥听(2015) uses the outline of an overnight bag and the phrase, 鈥淗EY GLEN YOU WANT TO COME OVER HERE FOR A MINUTE?鈥 The suggestion of travel and the nature of the bag suggest a more direct link between image and text, and thus asks the viewer to consider the nature of this link, provided it does indeed exist.
In many ways, this exhibition represents a culmination and development for both artist and gallery. Spr眉th Magers听is of course no stranger to expansion, and听this latest opening cements its position among American artists, particularly on the West Coast. For Baldessari, the show听combines his use of block colour to edit photographs, disjointed combination of image and text, and his playful explorations of the sense and significance of language.
John Baldessari, until 9 April,听Spr眉th Magers,听5900 Wilshire Boulevard,听Los Angeles, CA 90036.
For more, visit听.
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Credits
1. John Baldessari, Maybe the Simplest Way, 2015. Varnished inkjet print on canvas with acrylic paint. Courtesy of听Spr眉th Magers.
