John Baldessari (1931-2020), a leading figure of American Conceptualism, reshaped the possibilities of contemporary art through a lifelong investigation into the relationship between image, text, and meaning. Trained as a painter, Baldessari made a decisive turn with The Cremation Project in 1970, in which he burned most of his early canvases. Thereafter, he would redirect his focus toward a more conceptual approach encompassing photography, film stills, video, performance, and collaboration. As a pioneering educator at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), he transformed art education with his "Post-Studio Art" course, influencing generations of artists.

Marking Baldessari's first institutional solo presentation in China, this forthcoming exhibition surveys five decades of his artistic practice—from early experiments with text and image and playful video works of the 1970s, to his cinematic montages of the 1980s, psychological explorations of perception, and austere late works revisiting color, absence, and space. Alongside archival material, maquettes, and artist books, the exhibition highlights Baldessari’s distinctive wry wit and relentless drive to question authorship, narrative, and the systems by which art attains meaning. This exhibition is curated by UCCA Curator Luan Shixuan.

About the Artist

John Baldessari (b. 1931, National City, California) John Baldessari lived and worked in Venice, California. His major solo exhibitions include: “John Baldessari: Parables , Fables and Other Tall Tales” (BOZAR–Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, 2025); “John Baldessari: No Stone Unturned-Conceptual Photography” (Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice, 2025); “John Baldessari: The End of the Line” (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Atchugarry, Maldonado, 2025; Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, 2024); “John Baldessari“ (Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2020); “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art: Prints by John Baldessari” (Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, 2019); “Learning to Read with John Baldessari” (Museo Jumex, Mexico City, 2017); “John Baldessari: The Städel Paintings” (Städel Museum, Frankfurt a. M., 2015); “John Baldessari: 1+1=1” (Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, 2013); “John Baldessari. Pure Beauty“, (Tate Modern, London, 2009, Museum of Contemporary Art–MACBA, Barcelona 2010; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2010; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010–2011), “Your Name in Light“ (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 2011) and “The Giacometti Variations“ (Fondazione Prada, Milan, 2010). Selected group exhibitions include the 53rd Biennale di Venezia (2009), where he received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement; Whitney Biennial (2009, 1983); Documenta V (1972) and Documenta VII (1982); and the Carnegie International (1985–86).