What Is Painting?
Contemporary Art from the Collection
07 Jul - 17 Sep 2007
Installation view of the exhibition, "What is Painting: Contemporary Art from the Collection"
July 7, 2007–September 17, 2007. IN2011.13. Photograph by Jonathan Muzikar.
July 7, 2007–September 17, 2007. IN2011.13. Photograph by Jonathan Muzikar.
What Is Painting? is the fourth in a series of installations drawn from the Museum's collection of contemporary art. It presents a selection of artworks made since approximately 1965, including a number of recent acquisitions and many works displayed for the first time since the Museum's reopening. A variety of responses to the question "What is painting?" are proposed in loose chronological sequence, ranging from ironic to sincere; from figurative to abstract; and from an embrace and creative reimagining of painting's possibilities to a critical engagement with its limits. The installation's title derives from John Baldessari's eponymous painting of 1968 (with the addition of a question mark), acknowledging the ongoing debates over the practice of painting and its place within contemporary art.
Organized by Anne Umland, Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture.
Organized by Anne Umland, Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture.