Joseph Kosuth

(American, born 1945)

Joseph Kosuth is an American Conceptual artist known for his ongoing investigation into language and its utility within art. Through his text-based works and installations, Kosuth examines semiotic expression, as seen in his seminal work One and Three Chairs (1965), which consists of a wooden chair, a photograph of the same chair, and the dictionary definition of a chair. Like the work of John Baldessari and Daniel Buren, Kosuth takes art from the physical world into the realm of ideas. “When objects are presented within the context of art (and until recently objects always have been used) they are as eligible for aesthetic consideration as are any objects in the world,” he once mused. “An aesthetic consideration of an object existing in the realm of art means that the object's existence or functioning in an art context is irrelevant to the aesthetic judgment.” Born on January 31, 1945 in Toledo, OH, Kosuth studied at the Toledo Museum School of Design, the Cleveland Art Institute, and the School of Visual Arts throughout the late 1950s into the 1960s. After his first solo exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery and an appointment as the American editor for Art and Language journal in 1969, the artist began an anthropological and philosophical inquiry at the New School for Social Research that would carry over into his artistic practice. He currently lives and works between New York, NY and Rome, Italy. Kosuth’s works are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Tate Gallery in London, and the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, among others.

Joseph Kosuth Artworks

Joseph Kosuth (628 results)
Titled (Art as idea as idea)

Joseph Kosuth

Titled (Art as idea as idea)

Sale Date: November 16, 1995

Auction Closed

Untitled (art as idea as idea), 1968

Joseph Kosuth

Untitled (art as idea as idea), 1968

Sale Date: November 15, 1995

Auction Closed

The square root of minus one #2, 1988

Joseph Kosuth

The square root of minus one #2, 1988

Sale Date: May 4, 1995

Auction Closed

Titled (Art as idea as idea), 1967

Joseph Kosuth

Titled (Art as idea as idea), 1967

Sale Date: May 3, 1995

Auction Closed

Art as idea as idea, 1967

Joseph Kosuth

Art as idea as idea, 1967

Sale Date: February 4, 1995

Auction Closed

Discharge, Lege Artis, conversation, 1989

Joseph Kosuth

Discharge, Lege Artis, conversation, 1989

Sale Date: December 2, 1994

Auction Closed

GRAY, GREY

Joseph Kosuth

GRAY, GREY

Sale Date: November 2, 1994

Auction Closed

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1986

Joseph Kosuth

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1986

Sale Date: November 2, 1994

Auction Closed

Art with a rubber stamp and signed by Joseph , 1968

Joseph Kosuth

Art with a rubber stamp and signed by Joseph , 1968

Sale Date: October 18, 1994

Auction Closed

FOUR TITLES WORKING DRAWING, 1966–1969

Joseph Kosuth

FOUR TITLES WORKING DRAWING, 1966–1969

Sale Date: September 29, 1994

Auction Closed

No title given

Joseph Kosuth

No title given

Sale Date: June 24, 1994

Auction Closed

The Content of this Painting is invisible..., 1969

Joseph Kosuth

The Content of this Painting is invisible..., 1969

Sale Date: June 18, 1994

Auction Closed

FOUR COLORS FOUR WORDS, 1966

Joseph Kosuth

FOUR COLORS FOUR WORDS, 1966

Sale Date: May 5, 1994

Auction Closed

CATHEXIS 37, 1981

Joseph Kosuth

CATHEXIS 37, 1981

Sale Date: May 5, 1994

Auction Closed

ART AS IDEA AS IDEA, 1967

Joseph Kosuth

ART AS IDEA AS IDEA, 1967

Sale Date: May 5, 1994

Auction Closed

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1966

Joseph Kosuth

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1966

Sale Date: May 4, 1994

Auction Closed

ONE AND THREE LABELS (ENGLISH-LATIN), 1965

Joseph Kosuth

ONE AND THREE LABELS (ENGLISH-LATIN), 1965

Sale Date: May 4, 1994

Auction Closed

Ten Partial Description, 1980

Joseph Kosuth

Ten Partial Description, 1980

Sale Date: January 29, 1994

Auction Closed

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1968

Joseph Kosuth

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1968

Sale Date: November 11, 1993

Auction Closed

MODUS OPERANDI, 1987

Joseph Kosuth

MODUS OPERANDI, 1987

Sale Date: November 11, 1993

Auction Closed

ONE AND THREE FRAMES, 1965

Joseph Kosuth

ONE AND THREE FRAMES, 1965

Sale Date: May 5, 1993

Auction Closed

ART AS IDEA AS IDEA, 1967

Joseph Kosuth

ART AS IDEA AS IDEA, 1967

Sale Date: November 22, 1992

Auction Closed

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1967

Joseph Kosuth

TITLED (ART AS IDEA AS IDEA), 1967

Sale Date: November 18, 1992

Auction Closed

WORD, SENTENCE, PARAGRAPH (Z. + N.), 1986

Joseph Kosuth

WORD, SENTENCE, PARAGRAPH (Z. + N.), 1986

Sale Date: November 18, 1992

Auction Closed