Massimiliano Gioni Bücher

Exploring the evolving definitions of figuration in contemporary art, this publication showcases recent acquisitions that challenge traditional notions of realism. It features a diverse array of artists, both established and emerging, who delve into themes of autobiography, bodily representation, and the impact of technology. The collection includes significant works by renowned painters alongside newer voices, fostering a dialogue that reflects current discussions on representation and verisimilitude in art.

A concise introduction to the subversive career of contemporary art's great trickster New York- and Milan-based artist Maurizio Cattelan (born 1960) has provoked controversy and admiration alike with his subversive sculptures, installations and publications. His playful, satirical body of work--which includes Comedian (2019), a banana duct-taped to the wall at ArtBasel Miami Beach, and America (2016), the 18-karat gold toilet he later installed in the Guggenheim's restroom--reflects a pointed critique of institutional and cultural norms in the art world and society at large. Part of the 2000 Words series conceived by Massimiliano Gioni and published by DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, this monograph contains an essay by Gioni that excerpts his previous writings on Cattelan, his close friend and collaborator.

The varied practice of Paul Chan (born 1973) includes paintings, drawings, video animations and font design, as well as critical writing. The characters in his works are animated beings, jerking and stuttering as they are violently thrust into the clumsy reel--or -real---of history. Chan explores the intellectual and sexual animus that courses through our collective language and consciousness, drawing on sources as varied as the King James Bible, Marquis de Sade and Samuel Beckett. Part of the 2000 Words series, conceived and commissioned by Massimiliano Gioni, and published by the Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, 2000 Words: Paul Chan presents the entirety of the artist's works in the Dakis Joannou Collection and includes an essay by Stephen Squibb that reveals the solitary image and its uncanny animation in Chan's work.