Aspen Art Museum

Published by Aspen Art Press. Edited by Michelle Piranio. Foreword by Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson. Text by Klaus Ottmann, Franklin Sirmans, Philippe Vergne, Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson.

This volume offers a compelling examination of the surprising conceptual and visual correspondences between the works of these two pivotal artists known for their innovative practices. Klein (1928–1962) was a major figure in postwar art who opened up new possibilities for material, conceptual, and performative expression, often touching on the metaphysical. Hammons (born 1943) is a conceptual artist whose works in performance, installation, sculpture, printmaking, and other media confront contemporary realities with an often hard-hitting wit. This publication aims not to draw out any notion of influence or direct correlation between these bodies of work, but rather to elucidate a resonance between two artists who both engage transformative processes to invest the humblest of everyday materials with deep aesthetic significance.