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John Baldessari
& Jonathan Monk
May 21 - July 17 2004
Opening Friday May 21 2004 from 17-19
It is a great pleasure to present an exhibition with John Baldessari
and Jonathan Monk.
One of the most influential artists to have emerged since the 1960s,
John Baldessari has played a very significant role in the international
development of Conceptual art. Utilising photography and language
often drawn directly from popular culture, Baldessari questions
how meaning is made and challenges the conventions of art. Through
his work he has substantially affected the character of contemporary
art.
Central to Baldessari's work is his use of appropriated material.
Many of the photographic images incorporated into his compositions
are taken from popular media sources. Sometimes contradictory, the
images invite the spectator to make his or her own narrative.
Often blotting out the central subjects depicted Baldessari turns
the individual into types. Shifting the attention to other parts
of the image, questions about the relationships of the various images
arise.
For Jonathan Monk art is part of life and life is part of art and
he tells nostalgic stories, of art and life, of high and low, of
mind and body, reality and fiction.
The imperatives of originality and innovation are not Monk's main
concern. Instead he situates himself as part of a tradition and
draws upon a vocabulary firmly rooted in the Conceptual Art of the
1960s and 1970s.
Monk's tongue in cheek approach to art and to the modernist Icons
questions in what situations one can meaningfully label an object
as art. His work can take the form of a direct citation of works
already done by other artists, but mixed with Monks own ingenious,
personal take, meanings are reversed and label hierarchies subverted.
Questioning the authorities of art in a surprising, non-academic
and intelligent way, his works deal with matters of identity (as
an artist), of history, time, and the making of art.
The exhibition consists of 'Path (with Ducks [One Red] and Knight'
by John Baldessari and 'This work is ideally to be hung opposite
a John Baldessari' by Jonathan Monk.
We welcome you in the gallery.
Kind regards
Galleri Nicolai Wallner
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