Joseph Kosuth

Private Collection, Switzerland

Willy Rotzler, 'Glas in Spiegel der Kunst', in: Du, August 1977, no. 438, p. 61, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is a tiny chip to one of the extreme edges of one of the sheets of glass, visible only upon close inspection. There is a spot of light wear to the right corner tip of the 'clear' definition. There is a minute fly spot to the bottom edge of the 'square' definition towards the bottom right hand corner. There is a tiny scratch towards the centre of the bottom edge. There is a tiny speck of glue residue with an associated speck of dirt to the lower centre of the right edge of the 'glass' definition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This work is accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist and dated 1965

"I have always stated [...] that my ideas were not meant to be considered aesthetic objects in themselves but rather refer to an invisible 'beauty' or aesthetic which is the idea. The beauty is intended to exist in the idea not in the photostat." The artist in: in Alexander Alberro, Conceptual Art and the Politics of Publicity, Massachusetts 2003, p. 39 

Glass - one and four defined is one of Kosuth's ground breaking early works that would define him as an artist and the Conceptual Art movement which he championed. He would later refer to this work as part of his First Investigations. Throughout his career Kosuth focused on the complex links between text and image, and between image and subjectivity.  Here, in Glass - one and four defined, Kosuth juxtaposes word definitions, Clear, Square, Glass, Lean with their physical and active counterparts.  The definitions refer to what we see before us and whose arrangement is carefully instructed by the artist according to Kosuth's original documentation from 1965; four identical clear square glass panels that lean against a wall with their word definitions installed above them, explaining plainly what we already see but may not clearly focus upon. In constructing this set up, Kosuth emphasises the overlooked conceptual relationships and disparities between an object's description and its visual image; an investigation that has formed the central crux of his concept-based art making ever since.

Closely linked with like-minded artists of 1960s New York such as Sol Lewitt and Carl Andre, Kosuth was at the heart of a pinnacle conceptual movement that questioned the very nature of artistic practice, the role of the artist and the validity of the art object itself. Pivotal to Kosuth's identity as an artist was the belief that "art is the idea; the idea is the art". He strove to ascertain this through deconstructing the traditional unity of an artwork through applying a systematic approach of reductivism to each of its component parts. By playing on the specific operation of language as he does in this fine example, he injected a concept into an artistic realm that was to become a cornerstone for the evolution of conceptual art.