 John Baldessari: Path (with Ducks [One Red] and Knight), 1990 Colour photographs, vinyl paint, 152,4 x 203,4 cm John Baldessari & Jonathan Monk 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.  Jonathan Monk: This painting should ideally be hung opposite a John Baldessari, 2004 Acrylic on canvas, 140 x 110 cm 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. Exhibition: May 21 - July 17 2004 Gallery hours: Tue-Fri 12am - 5pm, Sat 12am - 3pm Galleri Nicolai Wallner Njalsgade 21 (Building 15) DK-2300 Copenhagen Telephone +45 325 709 70 Fax +45 325 709 71 Email nw@nicolaiwallner.com www.nicolaiwallner.com |
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