Paul Chan

This volume accompanies the first major solo exhibition on American artist Paul Chan (born 1973) since his series The 7 Lights was presented at the New Museum in 2008. Chan is one of the most versatile and unpredictable artists of his generation, and certainly one of the most original voices in contemporary art today. Active as artist, writer and publisher, he engages the viewer in a challenging discourse about the place of art in social and political life. Chan's combination of old and new works casts new light on the content and complexity of his fascinating art. In addition to early video installations, rarely seen works on paper, sculptures and works from the 7 Lights series, this volume includes reproductions of the 1,005 painted book covers that constitute Volumes (2012), and new works created for the exhibition. The catalog is published on the occassion of the Schaulager exhibition "Paul Chan - Selected Works." The overwhelming wealth of images in the "Selected Source Files" was worked out by Paul Chan in collaboration with the designers as a "picture book in a book." The collages of heterogeneous material testify to the wide-ranging sources of inspiration and the visual context that underlie this artist's oeuvre. Daniel Birnbaum's compelling essay details the concept of the exhibition. Photographs of the installations on view in the exhibition, a list of works, and comments on the groups of work complete the publication.