Ways of Curating: Hans Ulrich Obrist - Tapa dura

One of the most colourful figures in the artworld today . . . Hans Ulrich Obrist [is] not so much a curator as a human whirlwind (Guardian)

An engaging and erudite work that argues persuasively for the continued relevance of curating for the arts and wider society. His book is about the curator's role as a maker of exhibitions, a task that involves tracing hidden connections between artworks and forging untrammelled routes across culture in search of new ways of experiencing art; new ways of looking at the world around us. If that sounds like an impossibly romantic definition it's because this is an unapologetically personal account of the profession's development (Ekow Eshun Independent)

The sheer energy [Obrist] has brought to working with artists themselves is the abiding impression of Ways of Curating (Brian Dillon Literary Review)

People care about Mr. Obrist. His reputation is that of a fast-talking, tireless obsessive, and his various activities-which include mounting shows around the world, moderating panels, writing catalog essays, hosting early-morning salons and conducting scores of in-depth interviews with artists and other cultural figures-have made him an improbably influential, globally ubiquitous presence in the art world (New York Observer)

Obrist [is] a guru for young curators interested in how the form of the art show might change (Independent)

This is a highly intelligent, thoughtful and thought-provoking book. Obrist emerges as both scholarly and energetically engaged with the proliferation of ideas in modern culture today (Financial Times)

Drawing on his own experiences and inspirations - from staging his first exhibition in his tiny Zurich kitchen in 1986 to encounters and conversations with artists, exhibition makers and thinkers alive and dead - Hans Ulrich Obrist's Ways of Curating looks to inspire all those engaged in the creation of culture. Moving from meetings with the artists who have inspired him (including Gerhard Richter and Gilbert and George) to the creation of the first public museums in the 18th century, recounting the practice of inspirational figures such as Diaghilev and Walter Hopps, skipping between exhibitions (his own and others), continents and centuries, Ways of Curating argues that curation is far from a static practice. Driven by curiosity, at its best it allows us to create the future.