Produced on the occasion of Portraits a solo exhibition by Ghislaine Leung displayed at Museum Abteiberg from 3 June–24 October, 2021, curated by Susanne Titz and Haris Giannouras. The exhibition comprised of works commissioned by Museum Abteiberg and produced over the duration of a year from 2020–21. The catalogue references the legendary box catalogues developed by previous museum director Johannes Cladders with Joseph Beuys in 1967. With essays from Bruce Hainley and Eleanor Ivory Weber.

You can see a round table discussion of the exhibition featuring Bruce Hainley, Fatima Hellberg & Susanne Titz and Haris Giannouras here.

This publication is dedicated to pioneering curators and presents a unique collection of interviews by Hans Ulrich Obrist: Anne d’Harnoncourt, Werner Hofmann, Jean Leering, Franz Meyer, Seth Siegelaub, Walter Zanini, Johannes Cladders, Lucy Lippard, Walter Hopps, Pontus Hulten, and Harald Szeemann are thus gathered in this volume.

The contributions map the development of the curatorial field, from early independent curating in the 1960s and 1970s and the experimental institutional programs developed in Europe and in the USA at this time, through Documenta and the development of biennales.

With texts by Daniel Birnbaum, Christophe Cherix and Hans Ulrich Obrist.

Chapter 24 illustrates 61 paintings from the exhibition of the same name at the Museum Abteiberg in Mönchengladbach, Germany, 3 June–4 November, 2012. This latest chapter employs a variety of images directly related to Museum Abteiberg and Mönchengladbach. Many of the paintings are made from the museum’s image archive, and photographs taken by the artist of works in the permanent collection. These images are presented alongside several small portraits of their custodian, chief curator Hannelore Kersting.

The boxed set of 61 cards depicts each painting accompanied by corresponding notes written by the artist about each image. Additionally, the box includes an essay on Chapter 24 by Mark Godfrey, a facsimile of Yve-Alain Bois’ early essay The Tree and the Square, plus the original 1977 version L’arbre et le carré, and a new German translation. The box format is a direct reference to the famous catalogues published by the Museum in Mönchengladbach under the direction of Johannes Cladders.

For the first time, the 35 legendary box catalogues of Städtische Museum Mönchengladbach have been published as a book. Museum director Johannes Cladders developed the idea of catalogues in the form of a box with Joseph Beuys in 1967. Until 1978, Cladders worked closely with exhibiting artists to create such catalogues, which radically re-envisaged the traditional exhibition and museum publication. They embody the participatory approach of their time and instance a vision of a porous democratic work. Viewers are invited to actively participate in this artistic and institutional endeavour and engage both intellectually and physically. Researched by Susanne Rennert, designed by Petra Hollenbach, with photographs documenting all catalogues by Tobias Hohn & Stanton Taylor, and introductory essays by Susanne Rennert and Susanne Titz.