John Baldessari's "Ear Sofa; Nose Sconces with Flowers (In Stage Setting)" (2009) is a seminal work that epitomizes his conceptual artistry, blending Surrealism with a keen sense of spatial and perceptual experience. This installation was first conceived during Baldessari's intervention at the Haus Lange and Haus Esters museums in Krefeld, Germany, designed by Mies van der Rohe. The work features an ear-shaped sofa and two nose-shaped sconces, which are elements derived from human facial features but abstracted and rescaled to create a surreal salon environment. These components were originally designed to offer a unique perspective on the museum's interior spaces, melding Baldessari's interest in architecture, space, and the human face.

This specific installation is not merely about the physical items—the ear-shaped sofa flanked by nose-shaped sconces—but about creating a tableau vivant, a "living picture" that includes a human model, adding layers of interpretation and interaction between the human body and the abstracted body parts. The work recontextualizes these features within a dramatic stage setting, removing their humanity yet paradoxically enhancing it through this artistic juxtaposition.

At Art Basel in 2017, the piece was described as a unique manifestation of Baldessari's long-standing engagement with Surrealism-inflected conceptual art, incorporating elements of Hollywood's Art Deco glamour. The installation, with its dramatic stage-like pedestal and semicircular arch, was made even more absurd and compelling by the presence of a model and a poodle, reinforcing the theatricality and the blend of the animate with the inanimate​ (Art Basel)​.

The work stands out for its exploration of perception and the interplay between various elements of human experience and artistic expression. By using familiar yet distorted human features in an unconventional spatial arrangement, Baldessari challenges viewers to reconsider the relationship between form and function, the observer and the observed, and the boundaries between art and life​ (Sprüth Magers)​.