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Obrist-isms

Series: ISMs
Brief Description
A thought-provoking collection of quotations from one of the most influential figures in the contemporary art world. Hans Ulrich Obrist is one of the most celebrated curators working today and has twice been ranked #1 on ArtReview's annual list of the most important people in the... Read More
Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A thought-provoking collection of quotations from one of the most influential figures in the contemporary art world.

Hans Ulrich Obrist is one of the most celebrated curators working today and has twice been ranked #1 on ArtReview's annual list of the most important people in the art world. As the primary or lead author of more than forty volumes of interviews with contemporary artists, numerous exhibition catalogues for museums around the world, and influential books on curation, he has established himself as a pivotal figure in contemporary art and culture.

Drawn from Obrist's writings, interviews, and other sources, Obrist-isms gathers a wealth of fascinating quotations from across his career, offering insights on everything from his approach to curating and his affinity with philosopher Γ‰douard Glissant to his interest in artists' unrealised projects.

Obrist-isms is organised into seven thematic sections: Early Years; Curating and Exhibitions; Artists and Conversations; Archiving, Collecting, and Unrealized Projects; Γ‰douard Glissant and MondialitΓ©; On Sleep and Time; Art and the Environment; and Technology and the Future of Art. The book also features an introduction and a brief chronology of Obrist's life and career.

  • Art is the highest form of hope.
  • The motor, the engine, is curiosity. Curating is connected to curiosity.
  • What is happening outside the museum is just as important as what's happening inside. Make the walls porous. Think beyond exhibitions. Foster alliances.
  • If there was ever a time that the world needed artists, it is now. We need their radical ideas, visions, and perspectives in society.
  • There are many amazing unrealised projects out there: forgotten projects, misunderstood projects, lost projects, desk-drawer projects, poetic-utopian dream projects, unrealisable projects, partially realised projects, censored projects and so on.
  • I believe in generosity as a medium.

Series: ISMs

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780691279848

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 16 September 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Princeton University Press

Illustration: 2 b/w illus.

Contributors:

  • Edited by Larry Warsh
  • Edited by Larry Warsh

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 108.0mm

Height: 133.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 168

About the Author

Hans Ulrich Obrist is a Swiss-born curator, critic, and art historian, and the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London. His many books include 140 Artists' Ideas for Planet Earth; Lives of the Artists, Lives of the Architects; Ai Weiwei Speaks; Ways of Curating; and A Brief History of Curating.

Larry Warsh has been active in the art world for more than thirty years as a publisher and artist-collaborator. He is the editor of many books, including Abramovi-isms, Basquiat-isms, Haring-isms, Holzer-isms, Ono-isms, Warhol-isms, and Weiwei-isms (all Princeton).

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