Family, kin, clan, clique, coterie, fandom, elective affinity, alliance, collaboration, network. These forms of social structures are reflected in the materials assembled in this catalogue: invitation cards, flyers, fanzines, journals, and texts from the 1990s and 2000s. Documents that are arranged chronologically on a timeline provide an insight into the developments of visual art at that time in Cologne and New York. Selected historical essays and reviews reflect virulent theoretical debates; interspersed data point to socio-political events and influential exhibitions. The catalogue accompanies the exhibition of the Schröder Donation with works by Kai Althoff, Cosima von Bonin, KP Brehmer, Tom Burr, Lukas Duwenhögger, Isa Genzken, Dan Graham, Renée Green, Ull Hohn, Hilary Lloyd, Lucy McKenzie, Christian Philipp Müller, Nils Norman, Stephen Prina, and Danh Vo.

Catalogue of the decade-defining exhibition Kontext Kunst: The Art of the 90s at Neue Galerie im Künstlerhaus, Graz, 2 October – 7 November, 1993, curated by Peter Weibel. The exhibition proposed (early in the decade) that art practice in the 1990s focused on methods and practices of ‘contextualization’ as opposed to the classic didactic, ideological functions of traditional art. Exhibited artists included: Fareed Armaly, Cosima von Bonin, Tom Burr, Clegg & Guttmann, Meg Cranston, Mark Dion, Peter Fend, Andrea Fraser, Inspection Medhermeneutics, Ronald Jones, Louise Lawler, Thomas Locher, Dorit Margreiter, Kasimir Malewitsch, Katrin von Maltzahn, Regina Möller, Reinhard Mucha, Christian Philipp Müller, Anton Olschwang, Hirsch Perlman, Dan Peterman, Adrian Piper, Mathias Poledna, Stephan Prina, Florian Pumhösl, Gerwald Rockenschaub, Julia Scher, Oliver Schwarz, Jason Simon, Rudolf Stingel, Lincoln Tobier, Olga Tschernyschewa, Christopher Williams, Peter Zimmermann, Heimo Zobernig.

*Please note this publication is secondhand and has some traces of previous ownership.

The New York gallery American Fine Arts, Co.—whose name today is largely synonymous with that of its gallerist, Colin de Land (1955–2003)—represents a gallery practice in which a decided deviation from conventional models overlaps with successful activities within the framework of the art market. Today, American Fine Arts, Co. and de Land figure as uncontested projection screens for the desire for independence from or bohemian resistance against the dictate of the market.

Texts by Andrea Fraser, Manfred Hermes, Karl Holmqvist & Tobias Kaspar, Isla Leaver-Yap, Jackie McAllister, James Meyer & Christian Philipp Müller, Magnus Schäfer, Axel John Wieder, Phillip Zach; conversation between Colin de Land, Josef Strau, and Stephan Dillemuth; introduction by Hannes Loichinger and Magnus Schäfer.

Produced on the occasion of Christian Philipp Müller’s participation in documenta X in 1997, where he presented A Balancing Act, which took as its point of departure Joseph Beuys’ 7000 Oaks and Walter de Maria’s Vertical Earth Kilometer.

Christian Philipp Müller is a Berlin-based Swiss conceptual artist whose practice examines a range of issues from social and aesthetic concerns to design, national histories, and the institutional framing of culture. His projects are usually collaborative, interdisciplinary, and site-specific.

You can read more on the work (from October Vol. 82 (Autumn, 1997) here.

Invitation produced on the occasion of Kunst und Freundschaft, a two-person exhibition by Christian Philipp Müller and Ricardo Valentim at Galerie Lars Friedrich, Berlin, 30 April–12 June, 2021.

The friendship between Müller and Valentim began when they first met in 2008 at Manifesta 7 (Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy). Though Müller now lives in Berlin, and Valentim is currently in Lisbon, for many years both artists were based in New York, where they spent much time together visiting exhibitions and discussing their shared interests including art history, the culinary arts, travel, design, and typography. Though they had not previously considered doing a show together, Kunst und Freundschaft was triggered in part by this ongoing friendship. This exhibition not only situates their friendship and links between their practices, but it also comments on the social networks that define and support art production.

More information and documentation of the exhibition can be found here.

Produced on the occasion of Kunst und Freundschaft, a two-person exhibition by Christian Philipp Müller and Ricardo Valentim at Galerie Lars Friedrich, Berlin, 30 April–12 June, 2021.

The friendship between Müller and Valentim began when they first met in 2008 at Manifesta 7 (Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy). Though Müller now lives in Berlin, and Valentim is currently in Lisbon, for many years both artists were based in New York, where they spent much time together visiting exhibitions and discussing their shared interests including art history, the culinary arts, travel, design, and typography. Though they had not previously considered doing a show together, Kunst und Freundschaft was triggered in part by this ongoing friendship. This exhibition not only situates their friendship and links between their practices, but it also comments on the social networks that define and support art production.

More information and documentation of the exhibition can be found here.