The Family
When is an artist famous? This is a question to which the art community has a multitude of ready answers. These certainly include being found in the right galleries, being represented in the right collections, being exhibited in museums that are as prominent as possible, and having a large media presence.

And the next question: When is an artist really famous? This is when he or she is represented in a range of different permanent collections and produces highly recognizable work that is acquired – in bulk – by museums. Another important factor is the production of monographs by prominent publishers, ideally a series of monographs covering different creative periods.

Let us dig deeper: When is an artist really, truly world famous? When a museum bears their name.

So far, so good. And yet … in this book we are examining the work of a family to whom all of the above applies – apart from the media presence and the monographs.


The conceptual industrialization of art
The “Family” represent an artistic movement that, until recently, attracted little interest from the art industry: This is the conceptual industrialization of an object that, although factory-made, still leaves room for this richly disparate artistic clan to display its many sides. Stoically focused on a single monochrome color and imbued with a formal minimalism that demonstrates a complete commitment to industrial logic, this clan develops a rigorous range of pseudonymous objects that, in turn, recall industrial branding. Formally indeterminable, these works meander between painting, installation, sculpture, and readymade.

Recognizing the power of collaboration at a very early stage, the Family became pioneers of the collective in art: They exhibit alongside the greats, the Munchs, Mirós, and Michelangelos, but also alongside the newcomers, whose work still has to demonstrate its validity. From artificial intelligence to NFTs, the Family are omnipresent, alongside screens, in computer centers, everywhere. It is this sense of proximity, of juxtaposition, that first elevates the works of this clan to the spheres of immortality.

Unlike the big names, the Family are not only found in artistic settings, far-removed from the real world. They are much closer to the people, they are part of their daily lives: in schools, office buildings, airports, shopping centers, brothels, and railway stations: They are everywhere. Given this broad presence, it is astonishing how little we know about them – particularly in view of the overwhelming visibility of this family of artists as they hang, alongside the greats, in leading institutions all around the globe.

This movement was triggered by Marcel Duchamp: in 1917, when he placed a urinal in a museum in New York and declared it to be art. This is regarded as the hour of birth of conceptual art and the readymade. The moment at which the everyday object was torn from its context and put in a new setting.

Taken from the book:
Hans Rudolf Jost
«Who’s the most important artist in the world?»
Monograph, Edition «NotBlackNotWhite» 2024, 176 pages, 225 x 325 mm, 2024, ISBN 978-2-9701854-0-6, Distribution: Everyedition, Zurich & Idea Books, Amsterdam

Oder your copy here: https://everyedition.ch/whos-the-most-important-artist-in-the-world-bl/