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

Softcover. 112 pages, 12 × 18 cm. Published by Sternberg Press / Kunsthalle Bern, 2008. ISBN: 978-3-956794-31-5.

Condition: New old stock. Sealed in original publisher's shrink wrap. Light handling and storage wear to the plastic wrap from age and shelving.

French critic and historian Élisabeth Lebovici examines the work of Philippe Thomas (1951–1995), the artist who spent much of his career attempting to dissolve conventional ideas of authorship. Through projects such as readymades belong to everyone®, Thomas transferred ownership, attribution, and even artistic identity to collectors and participants, turning the artwork into a social and contractual structure rather than a stable object.

A compact but significant publication. Less a conventional monograph than a study of a name that repeatedly attempted to disappear. Thomas remains a key figure for anyone interested in conceptual strategies, delegated authorship, fictional identities, and the unstable relationship between artist, collector, institution, and object.

The artwork appears not as a singular thing but as a transfer mechanism. The book functions similarly — a small printed support carrying a larger set of questions: who owns a work, who authors it, and what remains when a name becomes part of the medium itself.

Shipping and handling included. Carefully packed and shipped flat.