«A work of art is a kind of proposition presented
within the context of art as a comment on art.»
Joseph Kosuth - 1969
Venice Biennale Preview
Casa dei Tre Oci - Berggruen Arts & Culture and Berggruen Institute Europe
Joseph Kosuth - The-exchange-value-of-language-has-fallen-to-zero
At the Casa dei Tre Oci - Berggruen Arts & Culture and Berggruen Institute Europe - a new exhibition by the pioneer of Conceptual art, American artist - Joseph Kosuth - entitled - The-exchange-value-of-language-has-fallen-to-zero - until - November 22 - curated by Mario Codognato and Angela Rispoli. Joseph Kosuth - 1945 - has consistently situated language as the content and subject of his
practice. Known for his celebrated neon works, an important new large-scale site-specific commission - A
Chain of Resemblance - 2026 - is installed in the gallery’s main entrance - above - the work, which
is based on a text by Michel Foucault, examines how meaning is formed by both the text and the context in which it appears, revealing that language is never neutral but inherently shaped
by its setting and reception.
A Chain of Resemblance - 2025
Warm white neon mounted directly on the wall
Joseph Kosuth has had a long relationship with Venice, living there from 2021 to 2025 and participating in eight Venice Biennales, including representing Hungary in 1993. His works include The Material of Ornament at Fondazione Querini Stampalia - since 1997 - and To Invent Relations - for Carlo Scarpa - at Ca' Foscari University - Venice - 2016.
Joseph Kosuth
From the One and Three series, this work marks a key moment in Conceptual art. By pairing an object with its image and definition, Joseph Kosuth reflects the influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Marcel Duchamp, exploring meaning as use and questioning art’s function. The mirror adds a dynamic element, incorporating the viewer into the work.
One and Three Mirrors (Eng.) - 1965
Two mounted photographs and mirror
One and Eight – A Description - is a tautological work in which Joseph Kosuth explores language and meaning. The text describes its own form, creating a self-referential system where meaning arises through language. Influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Kosuth uses neon to link art with everyday visual culture.
One and Eight - A Description - 1965
White neon mounted directly on the wall
‘"Art as Idea’ was obvious;
ideas or concepts as the work itself...The addition of the second
part, ‘Art as Idea as Idea’, intended to suggest that the real creative
process, and the radical shift, was in changing the idea of art itself."
Part of The First Investigation series - 1966 - Joseph Kosuth uses photographic enlargements of dictionary definitions to create a reproducible format that removes the artwork’s “aura,” shifting focus to questions about art and language.
Titled (Art as Idea as Idea) (Question) (Eng. Webster N.D.) - 1967
Mounted photograph
The Fifth Investigation - 1969 - part of Joseph Kosuth’s Investigation series, marks a key shift in his conceptual practice. Using typewritten cards and neutral displays, the work presents logic puzzles that encourage abstract thinking. Drawing on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s language games, Kosuth shows that meaning depends on context rather than being inherent.
The Fifth Investigation - 1969
28 typewritten labels - framed
This work extends the Proto-Investigations series by pairing a clock with its image and definitions, shifting focus from object to concept. Unlike One and Three Chairs, the clock adds a temporal dimension, prompting reflection on how art, language, and images shape reality.
Clock (One and Five) (Ety.-Hist.) -1965
4 mounted photographs and clock
Curators - Mario Codognato and Angela Rispoli
Text/Context - 1979 - left - was created for Van Abbemuseum and later shown internationally. Texts by Joseph Kosuth appeared first on street billboards, then as gallery wallpaper, highlighting how meaning shifts across cultural contexts.
The Seventh Investigation (A.A.I.A.I.) Proposition One - 1970 - right - was installed in Turin, New York’s Chinatown, and now on Palazzo Malipiero. Using text from Kurt Goldstein and Martin Scheerer on the - abstract attitude - Kosuth invites viewers to make thinking itself the work. The final line—to detach our ego from the outer world—paradoxically asks engagement while prompting separation from the busy surroundings.
Text/Context - 1979
20 framed original photographs
The Seventh Investigation (A.A.I.A.I.) Proposition One - 1970
Banner on Public Space - Collection Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano - FAI -
For the International Local Collective - produced and designed by Joseph Kosuth for the 37th Venice Biennale with Sarah Charlesworth and Anthony McCall, the work critiques art world dynamics. The poster positions viewers as Producer - Intermediary - Consumer, with a labyrinth guiding a self-reflexive journey through language, identity, and perspective.
International Local
(Sarah Charlesworth; Joseph Kosuth; Anthony McCall)
A Che Punto Sei? / Where are You Standing - 1976
Posters Offset printing
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