Few figures have had as important an impact on our understanding of artistic production after the turn of the millennium as Wade Guyton, whose practice has widely prompted reconsiderations of longstanding models of medium-specificity, appropriation, and critical engagement—and, perhaps more provocatively, performativity and readymade gesture—in art.
This volume takes stock of critical perspectives on Guyton's work over the course of the artist's career, assembling both expansive, scholarly essays and more concise, journalistic assessments by an international array of authors—Daniel Baumann, Kirsty Bell, Johanna Burton, Catherine Chevalier, Bettina Funcke, John Kelsey, Scott Rothkopf, and Peter Schjeldahl among them—offering an invaluable reference for any reader coming to terms with this unique practice.
Just as significantly, the volume holds up a mirror to the rapidly changing context for Guyton's work, which in a few short years shifted from discussions of the widespread use of modernist motifs in art during the early 2000s to others revolving around the artwork, anticipating its continuous circulation as digital media became ubiquitous in art and culture alike.
A foreword by editor Tim Griffin examines Guyton's production and reception, underlining the continual dialogue between the artist's work and cultural setting, shedding light on the different times, and Guyton's contrapuntal mode of engagement throughout.