Born in 1948, internationally acclaimed Swiss artist John Armleder lives and works in Geneva and New York. Drawing liberally from traditional art references, he defies the limitations of style and media by mixing them in refreshing combinations. From his performances and Fluxus events of the 1970s to his famous Furniture Sculpture, and from his monumental installations to his use of drawing and painting, Armleder's hybrid, unique, and ever-changing body of work exemplifies the international contemporary art scene. His art has been the subject of exhibitions throughout Europe and North America.Lionel Bovier is an art historian, editor, and critic.Interview with Stephanie Moisdon, art critic.

Armleder contextualizes both categorical impulses and the drive to classify, as if they were an episode from that Borges story about the geographers drawing up the cartography of their country who ended up covering it with a one-to-one scale map. The constraints inherent in a volume such as this obviously preclude us from yielding to this geographic mania. They should not, however, induce us to leave interpretation of his work solely up to one who was and is one of its most adroit commentators, the artist himself.., or else to one of his alter egos. So the present monograph will also indulge in genre crossfertilization: its account of Armleder's practice is divided into chapters whose arbitrary nature is justified by temporal divisions and by a selection of significant works--although it will also include an interview with the artist.