Burckhardt is a former restorer, art historian, early initiator of the performance program at the Kunsthaus Zürich, co-editor of the art journal Parkett, curator of site-specific art on the Novartis Campus in Basel, lecturer at the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio director of the summer academy at the Zentrum Paul Klee. Her cultural commitment also includes presiding over the Swiss Federal Art Commission for nine years.
The book contains an in-depth dialogue with curator and art historian Juri Steiner that provides an account of Burckhardt’s work and mindset. Together, Steiner and Burckhardt address a diversity of topics, ranging rhizome like from the dual historical nature of artworks to Herbert Lachmayer's concept of 'taste intelligence'. We encounter Kairos, the god of the opportune moment, alongside Isabelle d'Este, the botfly, and the octopus. Selected texts penned over the past 40 years elaborate on issues raised in the conversation and give an insight into Burckhardt’s distinctive and informative writings on art.
It also contains an 'Intermezzo' with contributions by Laurie Anderson, Kurt W. Forster, Katharina Fritsch, Herbert Lachmayer, Pipilotti Rist, Catherine Schelbert and the aforementioned copy of Ernst Gombrich’s letter.
Edition Patrick Frey, 416pp, 19cm × 14cm, illustrated paperback, 2024
