Haim Steinbach: North East South West

Along with Robert Gober and Jeff Koons, New York-based Haim Steinbach is one of the most renowned exponents of the late 70s art movement which endeavored to revamp the post-Duchamp tradition of ready-mades in the face of a rising wave of neo-expressionism. Steinbach has become known for his "thing altars," carefully manufactured shelves containing borrowed or purchased objects that take on new meaning in the context of their surroundings, recalling Robert Smithson's notions of "site" and "non-site." This new book in the Cantz Series documents a Berlin-specific installation by the artist. Steinbach, born to German-Jewish parents in Israel, stayed in the former East Germany for the first time, visiting families all over Berlin and borrowing individual objects or arrangements which he then transferred to an art space. In doing so the artist became the curator of a sort of group exhibition of "collected collections" which interact in surprising ways in their new space.Valentin Rauer is the author of 'Haim Steinbach: North East South West', published 2001 under ISBN 9783775790253 and ISBN 377579025X.