John Baldessari is one of the best known conceptual artists in the world and has been credited as having invented a new form of photography. The influence of his work on younger artists is far reaching and longstanding and his work may be seen in major art museums across the world. He has been a member of the Advisory Council of Burren College of Art since it opened in 1994 and has visited the college on four occasions since then.

On Tuesday April 18th he will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Art from the National University of Ireland, as part of the Burren College of Art/NUI Galway MFA Graduation ceremony.

Professor Timothy Emlyn Jones, Dean of Burren College of Art said, "It is both an honour and a pleasure to have John Baldessari involved with the Burren College of Art. It is an honour because he is one of the most distinguished artists currently working anywhere in the world, and it is a pleasure since his work connects so well with the ideas-led, enquiry based education at Burren College of Art. He is not only an important artist but also an inspirational teacher who is warmly remembered by those of our students and teachers who have been fortunate enough to have met him. We are delighted that the National University of Ireland, Galway accepted our nomination for the award of an honorary doctorate to honour and celebrate this important artist."

John Baldessari was born in National City in 1931. He attended San Diego State University and did post-graduate work at Otis Art Institute and Chouinard Art Institute and U.C. Berkeley. He taught at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia until 1990 and is currently teaching at UCLA. He has been a major influence on several generations of artists.

His art has been featured in more than 120 solo exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe and in over 300 group exhibitions. His projects include artist books, videos, films, billboards and public works. His awards include the Governors Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts in California, the Oscar Kokoschka Prize from Austria and the Spectrum-International Award for Photography of the Foundation of Lower Saxony, Germany.

Current projects include; solo shows in New York and Europe, books, films, an upcoming project at the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin, and retrospectives at Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Vienna, Austria and the Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria, and at the Musee d Art Contemporain de Nimes, France. He has been made an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design of the New School of Social Research, and by San Diego State University and the California State University.

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