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 News

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Fearing Political Instability After the Catalonia Referendum, a Collector Withdraws Loans From MACBA

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Take a Tour of Miami's Private Collections During Art Basel

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Joseph Kosuth Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Joseph Kosuth (628 results)
Titled (Art as Idea as Idea)' [ephemeral]-..., 1967

Joseph Kosuth

Titled (Art as Idea as Idea)' [ephemeral]-..., 1967

Sale Date: October 3, 2019

Auction Closed

So what I am saying means: red can’t be..., 1990

Joseph Kosuth

So what I am saying means: red can’t be..., 1990

Sale Date: June 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Sigla, Finnegans Wake, from Wall Works, 1998

Joseph Kosuth

Sigla, Finnegans Wake, from Wall Works, 1998

Sale Date: June 6, 2019

Auction Closed

L'Essence de la rhétorique est dans..., 1998

Joseph Kosuth

L'Essence de la rhétorique est dans..., 1998

Sale Date: June 6, 2019

Auction Closed

Ex-Libris, 1991

Joseph Kosuth

Ex-Libris, 1991

Sale Date: April 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Una sola frase. 2003, 2003

Joseph Kosuth

Una sola frase. 2003, 2003

Sale Date: March 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Text/Context (Conventional), 1978

Joseph Kosuth

Text/Context (Conventional), 1978

Sale Date: March 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Frammenti di Rossini (Ospiti e Stranieri) #16, 1999

Joseph Kosuth

Frammenti di Rossini (Ospiti e Stranieri) #16, 1999

Sale Date: March 7, 2019

Auction Closed

DISCHARGE-CONVERSION (diptych), 1989

Joseph Kosuth

DISCHARGE-CONVERSION (diptych), 1989

Sale Date: January 30, 2019

Auction Closed

Frammenti di Rossini (Ospiti e Stranieri) #17, 1999

Joseph Kosuth

Frammenti di Rossini (Ospiti e Stranieri) #17, 1999

Sale Date: December 5, 2018

Auction Closed

Nominated Object, 1990

Joseph Kosuth

Nominated Object, 1990

Sale Date: October 27, 2018

Auction Closed

Wittgenstein's color, 1989

Joseph Kosuth

Wittgenstein's color, 1989

Sale Date: October 23, 2018

Auction Closed

L'ESSENCE DE LA RETORIQUE EST DANS..., 1989

Joseph Kosuth

L'ESSENCE DE LA RETORIQUE EST DANS..., 1989

Sale Date: October 6, 2018

Auction Closed

Mens agitat molem #21, 2003

Joseph Kosuth

Mens agitat molem #21, 2003

Sale Date: June 8, 2018

Auction Closed

Forms of Air (Clouds) | Forme dell'Aria..., 1997

Joseph Kosuth

Forms of Air (Clouds) | Forme dell'Aria..., 1997

Sale Date: June 4, 2018

Auction Closed

Two screenprints, 1991

Joseph Kosuth

Two screenprints, 1991

Sale Date: May 22, 2018

Auction Closed

'One and Three Stools,' 1965

Joseph Kosuth

'One and Three Stools,' 1965

Sale Date: May 18, 2018

Auction Closed

Art as idea as idea-yellow-, 1967

Joseph Kosuth

Art as idea as idea-yellow-, 1967

Sale Date: April 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Titled (A.A.I.A.I.)' [pink] [Ety.], 1968

Joseph Kosuth

Titled (A.A.I.A.I.)' [pink] [Ety.], 1968

Sale Date: March 7, 2018

Auction Closed

WORD, SENTENCE, PARAGRAPH #1, 1985

Joseph Kosuth

WORD, SENTENCE, PARAGRAPH #1, 1985

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Frammenti di Rossini (Ospiti e Stranieri) #1, 1999

Joseph Kosuth

Frammenti di Rossini (Ospiti e Stranieri) #1, 1999

Sale Date: November 27, 2017

Auction Closed

No Number #001 (Cobalt Blue), 1989

Joseph Kosuth

No Number #001 (Cobalt Blue), 1989

Sale Date: November 15, 2017

Auction Closed

Wittgenstein’s Color - 1989

Joseph Kosuth

Wittgenstein’s Color - 1989

Sale Date: November 16, 2017

Auction Closed

Ex libris - 1981 (2 works), 1981

Joseph Kosuth

Ex libris - 1981 (2 works), 1981

Sale Date: November 16, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

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