Joseph Kosuth
(Toledo, Ohio, 1945)
One of the most emblematic artists of Conceptual Art, he started language-based works and appropriation strategies in the 1960s. In 1969 Kosuth became editor of the magazine "Art-Language" and wrote numerous texts about conceptual art. In 1971 he devoted himself to the study of philosophy, from which he always drew inspiration for his artistic ideas. From the 1990s onwards, the artist began to include phrases written by celebrities from contemporary culture in his works. In these works, he also included neon, which became one of his most used materials. Besides, neon was often used in signage and Kosuth decided to use it again to maintain the subtle link with mass culture. He studied a series of “investigations” compromising propositions on/about/of art with the subtitle “Art as Idea as Idea”, including definitions from a dictionary or categories from the Thesaurus presented in the form of photostats or published in space purchased in newspapers. His inquiry into the relation of language to art has taken the form of installation, solo exhibitions and public commissions all over the world. He participated at Kassel Documenta several times (1972, 1978, 1982, 1992) and at Venice Biennal (1976, 1993, 1999). He currently lives and works between New York and Rome.
Among his solo and group exhibitions, we can mention: The Eighth Investigation (A.A.I.A.I) (Galleria Lia Rumma, Naples, 1971); The Eighth Investigation, Proposition 3 (Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, USA, 1971); Investigation sur l’art et problématique 1965-1973 (Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de paris, Paris, 1974); An Exhibition On, About, or Using Wittgenstein and Nietzsche (Galleria Lia Rumma, Naples, 1991); Guest and Foreigners, Rules and Meanings (Te Kore) (Adam Art Gallery, New Zealand, 2000); Venice Biennal (Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 1976, 1993, 1999); Joseph Kosuth (Castello di Rivoli, Turin, 2006); Neither appearance nor illusion (Sean Kelly Gallery, NY, USA, 2008); Ni apparence ni illusion (Museo del Louvre, Paris, 2009); Eine Verstummte bibliothek (Kunstmuseum Thurgau, Switzerland, 2013); Plays of/ for a Respirator (Philadelphia Museum of Art, Phioladelphia, USA, 2015); Joseph Kosuth - existential time (Galleria Lia Rumma, Milan, 2019).
