Relational art

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Scope note
Theorized by French curator and critic Nicolas Bourriaud in the late 1990s, relational art describes a set of art practices in which the production of human relations and their social context are privileged over a discrete, portable, autonomous work. The artist, acting as a facilitator, establishes spaces, situations, or "platforms" designed to host social activities and information exchange between audience participants. Participatory in nature, a relational work emphasizes the social interactions created by the installation or event and conceives the audience as a community. Key practitioners include Liam Gillick, Pierre Huyghe, Maurizio Cattelan, Carsten Höller, and Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Relational art
Accepted term: 29-Apr-2024