John Baldessari Has Transformed Emoji Into New Icons of Conceptual Art—Take a Look

Show of the Day: The exhibit from Marian Goodman Gallery and Sprüth Magers is on view at Sprüth Magers in LA.

John Baldessari, Ext. Baseball Diamond on Carillo - Day Wayne It's Calumny (2017). Image © John Baldessari, courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

JOHN BALDESSARI

Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles
October 27-December 9, 2017

What the Gallery Says: “The exhibition features twenty-seven works from Baldessari’s new series of large-scale paintings based on the ubiquitous Emojis…. Inkjet prints of animal Emojis such as a tiger or pig dominate large canvases that are painted over in acrylic. Below each picture plane, typed snippets of dialogue from movies appear to caption the icons, although it is difficult to find any connection between them.”

Why It’s Worth a Look: It’s LA conceptual art legend John Baldessari! And Emojis! Say no more.

What It Looks Like:

Installation view: Sprueth Magers Los Angeles. © John Baldessari, courtesy the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery and Sprueth Magers. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.

Installation view: Sprueth Magers Los Angeles. © John Baldessari, courtesy the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery and Sprueth Magers. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.

John Baldessari, <em>Int. Busch's Jewelry Store - Day Michael Lugubrious Movies of Lost Love</em> (2017). Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, Int. Busch’s Jewelry Store – Day Michael Lugubrious Movies of Lost Love (2017). © John Baldessari. Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, <em>Ext. Crematoriu - Later Evelyn (Brushes Horse Hairs From Her Jeans) I Was Riding Rather Early</em> (2017). Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, Ext. Crematoriu – Later Evelyn (Brushes Horse Hairs From Her Jeans) I Was Riding Rather Early (2017). © John Baldessari. Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, <em> Courtyard Ben I'm Afraid There's Been a Serious Error </em>(2017). Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, Courtyard Ben I’m Afraid There’s Been a Serious Error (2017). © John Baldessari. Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, <em>The Don's Office - Night Paul Naw, It's Alright... Thanks...</em>(2017). Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, The Don’s Office – Night Paul Naw, It’s Alright… Thanks…(2017). © John Baldessari. Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, <em>Int. Newark Street Jail - Day Alice I Love You. Sam I Love You Too. </em>(2017). Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

John Baldessari, Int. Newark Street Jail – Day Alice I Love You. Sam I Love You Too. (2017). © John Baldessari. Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

 Baldessari, <em>Int. Camera Store - Newark - Day Nate It's a Cosmic Aberration. </em>(2017). Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

Baldessari, Int. Camera Store – Newark – Day Nate It’s a Cosmic Aberration. (2017). © John Baldessari. Image courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Sprueth Magers.

Installation view: Sprueth Magers Los Angeles. © John Baldessari, courtesy the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery and Sprueth Magers. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.

Installation view: Sprueth Magers Los Angeles. © John Baldessari, courtesy the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery and Sprueth Magers. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.


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