Meaning Liam Gillick

Liam Gillick emerged as part of the generation of "Young British Artists"who energized the British art scene in the 1980s and 1990s. He is now one of the most influential(and perplexing) artists in all of contemporary art. Gillick's discursive mode of artpractice--often associated with "relational aesthetics"--complicates object production,embraces the exhibition as medium, and explores the social role and function of art. His body ofwork includes variations on "discussion platforms" (architectural structures that questionor facilitate social interaction), text sculptures, and published texts that reflect on theincreasing gap between utopian idealism and the real world. Artist, writer, curator, andprovocateur, Gillick explores how an artistic practice can be conducted and represented, while atthe same time questioning curatorial practice and the conventions of applied design. This readercoincides with a year-long, multi-venue, mid-career retrospective that serves both as a continuousinvestigation into Gillick's practice and an in-depth study of his work to date. The book offers arange of critical perspectives on Gillick's work. Among them: political scientist Chantall Mouffedevelops her notion of radical democracy and antagonism; sociologist Maurizio Lazzarato (whosetheorization of immaterial labor influenced Gillick) comments on the current economic crisis;philosopher and artist Benoit Maire links Gillick to continental philosophy; and Johanna Burtonquestions Gillick's practice in the context of feminist critique.ContributorsPeio Aguirre, JulietaAranda, Johanna Burton, Nikolaus Hirsch, John Kelsey, Maurizio Lazzarato, Maria Lind, SvenLutticken, Benoit Maire, Chantall Mouffe, Barbara Steiner, Marcus Verhagen

Monika Szewczyk is a writer, editor, and curator based in Berlin and Rotterdam. She is Head of Publications at Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, and a contributing editor of A Prior magazine.