John Baldessari was born in California in 1931 and graduated from San Diego State University College in 1957. As a conceptual artist, Baldessari’s style was highly experimental and challenged the traditional role of art and its different mediums with an oeuvre spanning painting, photography, installation and film. There is an abundance of pop imagery in Baldessari’s works, reflecting the work of his predecessors such as Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. In 1956, Baldessari taught a painting class at San Diego State College and continued teaching alongside his art practice for the rest of his career. Baldessari has been exhibited extensively both in the United States and internationally, and his work is held in several significant collections including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Tate Modern, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. Baldessari lived and worked in Santa Monica, California for most of his career.