Vitamin Txt: Words in Contemporary Art

A ground-breaking global survey of today's most innovative artists working with text

The inclusion of text in works of art was a revolutionary creative advancement of the twentieth century, with artists subverting traditional conceptions of 'art' and 'writing.' Younger generations of artists have continued to use the inherent readability of words to communicate ideas to viewers across a diverse array of mediums, including painting, sculpture, installation, and video.

Nominated by 66 leading global experts (including curators, critics, museum directors, and professors), Vitamin Txt showcases 103 living artists, from 34 countries, who place the use of text centrally within their artistic practices. With more the 500 artworks illustrated, and an introduction about the history of artists using text from ancient Chinese calligraphy to contemporary digital art, the book's focus allows for a showcase of a range of different mediums, providing a cross-disciplinary view into the art world today.

Advisors include: Negar Azimi, Naomi Beckwith, Meriem Berrada, Isolde Brielmaier, Yeon Shim Chung, Tandazani Dhlakama, Yilmaz Dziewior, Touria El Glaoui, Ruth Erickson, Alison Gingeras, Krist Gruijthuijsen, Jennifer Higgie, Mami Kataoka, Sunjung Kim, Venus Lau, Helen Molesworth, Kimberly Moulton, Fumio Nanjo, Chika Okeke-Agulu, Adriano Pedrosa, Nada Raza, Dieter Roelstraete, Andrew Russeth, Nancy Spector, Sarah Thornton, Marianna Vecellio, Gilbert Vicario, Victor Wang

Artists featured include: Ghada Amer, Hellen Ascoli, Kamyar Bineshtarigh, Sophie Calle, Alejandro Cesarco, Heman Chong, Tony Cokes, Tracey Emin, Jeffrey Gibson, Shilpa Gupta, Jenny Holzer, Roni Horn, Ichihara Hiroko, Christine Sun Kim, Barbara Kruger, Glenn Ligon, Harland Miller, Shirin Neshat, Adam Pendleton, Shubigi Rao, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Kay Rosen, Ed Ruscha, David Shrigley, Studio for Propositional Cinema, Hank Willis Thomas, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Nora Turato, Kaylene Whiskey, John Wood and Paul Harrison, Xu Bing, Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries

Phaidon Editors

Evan Moffitt is a writer, editor, and freelance critic based in New York.