A comprehensive look at the remarkable 40-year career of a defining figure associated with conceptual art

Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942) is one of the primary figures associated with the emergence of conceptual art in the 1960s. For over four decades, Weiner has defined art as a representation of relationships in the physical world--"the relationship of human beings to objects and objects to objects in relation to human beings." This highly anticipated publication represents the full range of Weiner's practice, from the early 1960s to the present, from his early paintings to his work in language, including works on paper, films, videos, books, and public commissions. Weiner adopted language as his primary material in 1968. According to his landmark STATEMENT OF INTENT, an oft-quoted declaration first published in 1969, each work can be constructed by the artist, fabricated by someone else, or need not be built at all and simply presented in language. Weiner's work is often manifested outside the gallery context--through postcards, billboards, lectures, or even on a series of cast-iron manhole covers for the city of New York.This substantial publication, produced in conjunction with the artist's first major retrospective in the United States and in close collaboration with the artist, constitutes Weiner's largest monograph to date and brings together five esteemed scholars along with Turner Prize finalist Liam Gillick to examine the artist's impact on the art world today.

Published in association with The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Whitney Museum of American Art

Exhibition Schedule:

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (November 15, 2007 - February 10, 2008)

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (April 13 - July 14, 2008)

K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (September 20, 2008 - January 4, 2009)

Ann Goldstein is senior curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Donna De Salvo is chief curator and associate director of programs at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Kathryn Chiong is an art history doctoral candidate at Columbia University. Liam Gillick is an artist based in London and New York. Edward Leffingwell is a New York-based curator and writer. Dieter Schwarz is director of the Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland. Gregor Stemmrich is professor of art history, School of Fine Art, Dresden.