Since the late 1960s, John Knight has worked in exacting response to the terms of a given site, guided by a set of social, spatial, and ethical concerns that have made him a touchstone for generations of artists. By working in situ Knight defies ready categorization, creating hybrid projects that blur the lines between conceptual art, architecture, and design. Through objects and gestures that intervene in art’s conditions of display, Knight’s work shifts the viewer’s experience in subtle yet revelatory ways.

This artist's book was produced in conjunction with Knight's 2024 commission at the Art Institute of Chicago, and documents the most recent entries in his career-long pursuit of unserious routes to serious critique. As Paul Chan writes in this volume, "The exhilaration of seeing the best of Knight's work comes in part from witnessing his disordering of things, from experiencing the arenas of the exhibition. . . go topsy-turvy." Chan's text is accompanied by an original essay by the exhibition's curator, Giampaolo Bianconi, and an afterword by Ann Goldstein, Deputy Director and Senior Curator at Large at the Art Institute of Chicago.