Philippe Thomas

Philippe Thomas was a French artist whose practice centred on the systematic displacement of authorship. Working from the mid-1980s until his death in 1995, Thomas developed a series of projects in which collectors, institutions, and other individuals were invited to assume his name and identity as the author of his work. His agency readymades belong to everyone®, founded in 1987, operated as both artwork and commercial structure, producing advertisements, publications, and objects in which the artist's position was transferred, sold, and redistributed.

Publications collected here document Thomas's practice and its reception, including artist publications, exhibition catalogues, and printed matter through which his system of displaced authorship entered institutional and private circulation.

  • Original 2008 Élisabeth Lebovici The Name of Philippe Thomas, Sternberg Press / Kunsthalle Bern. Front cover on cream ground with title and author in small green serif type centre: 'ELISABETH LEBOVICI / The Name / of Philippe Thomas'. Publisher imprints 'SternbergPress' and 'KUNSTHALLE BERN' in green lower left. Sealed in original clear shrink wrap. Reverse of 2008 Élisabeth Lebovici The Name of Philippe Thomas, Sternberg Press / Kunsthalle Bern. Plain cream back cover with author and title in small green serif type centre, printed upside down: 'Philippe Thomas' Name / ELISABETH LEBOVICI'. Green barcode upper left with ISBN 978-3-956794-31-5. Sealed in original clear shrink wrap.

    Élisabeth Lebovici — The Name of Philippe Thomas, Sternberg Press / Kunsthalle Bern, 2008

    Élisabeth Lebovici — The Name of Philippe Thomas, Sternberg Press / Kunsthalle Bern, 2008

  • Original 1990 Laura Carpenter / Philippe Thomas, Insights, Galerie Claire Burrus, Paris. Softcover with a close-up black-and-white photograph of a curved shadow cast across a pale textured surface, suggesting a body or sculptural form. 'INSIGHTS' in spaced white serif capitals at upper centre, 'LAURA CARPENTER' in smaller spaced white serif type at lower centre. Light surface wear and minor corner softening consistent with period. Reverse of 1990 Laura Carpenter / Philippe Thomas, Insights, Galerie Claire Burrus, Paris. Softcover back showing a close-up colour photograph of two adjacent fabric surfaces — a warm yellow draped textile on the left and a cool grey-blue fabric on the right — meeting at a diagonal fold, no text, no imprint. Light surface wear and age toning consistent with period.

    Laura Carpenter / Philippe Thomas — Insights

    Laura Carpenter / Philippe Thomas — Insights

  • Original 2015 Daniel Bosser, Philippe Thomas Declines His Identity, Occasional Papers, London. Cream textured softcover with 'DANIEL BOSSER' in small spaced serif capitals at top, 'PHILIPPE THOMAS / DECLINES HIS IDENTITY' in larger spaced serif type at centre, and a black-and-white photograph below showing Philippe Thomas seated at a table, holding up a document, wearing a black top, expression direct and slightly confrontational. 'Occasional Papers' in italic type at foot. Reverse of 2015 Daniel Bosser, Philippe Thomas Declines His Identity, Occasional Papers. Plain cream textured back cover, entirely unprinted except for ISBN barcode and number 978-0-9929039-0-9 and the URL www.occasionalpapers.org at foot. Book shown in protective polypropylene sleeve.

    Daniel Bosser — Philippe Thomas Declines His Identity

    Daniel Bosser — Philippe Thomas Declines His Identity