The fourth incarnation of “Raised Eyebrows / Furrowed Foreheads” from John Baldessari is on view at Mai 36 Galerie in Zürich.
John Baldessari, Raised Eyebrows / Furrowed Foreheads: (with Apple), 2009.
In the late 1960’s Baldessari removed his hand from the art making process. He abandoned the physical surface of paint in favor of the appropriation of commercial imagery. The game became the rule and left Baldessari free to roam the conceptual expanse. Paint remains a component of the procedure in a reduced form of monotone colored shapes.
John Baldessari, Raised Eyebrows / Furrowed Foreheads: Three UFOs Aloft, 2009.
Raised eyebrows exist in opposition to the furrowed forehead. It is one or the other, an attempt to carry both expressions resolves in a look of confusion. The struggle of opposing attitudes has kept Baldessari busy and his followers transfixed throughout his career. The equation may be repeatable but each new piece manifests as unique. In the art world, the division between “high” and “low” has subsisted despite continual intermingling. The artist celebrates the middle ground with examples that derive power from irreconcilable antagonism.
John Baldessari, Raised Eyebrows / Furrowed Foreheads: Woman (with Semaphore Flags), 2009.
John Baldessari
Raised Eyebrows / Furrowed Foreheads:
7 June – 8 August 2009
Mai 36 Galerie
Zürich
