What Is Painting? Contemporary Art from the Collection

published Jun 29, 2007
What Is Painting Contemporary Art from the Collection
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 1966-68 (with the addition of a question mark), acknowledging the ongoing debates over the practice of painting and its place within contemporary art.