David Hammons has released a "post-exhibition catalogue" through Hauser & Wirth Publishers, six years after his 2019 survey at the gallery's Downtown Los Angeles location. The 12-by-12-inch, nearly 7-pound volume contains hundreds of images—installation shots, artwork reproductions, and ephemera—but no text whatsoever: no table of contents, essays, titles, dates, or page numbers. The book functions more as an artist's book than a traditional exhibition catalog, presenting Hammons's work in a raw, unapologetic sequence that resists scholarly interpretation.
This publication matters because it deliberately subverts the conventions of exhibition catalogs, which typically provide context, chronology, and critical analysis. By stripping away all explanatory text, Hammons challenges art historians, curators, and scholars who might seek to assert authority over his work or life. The book becomes a work of art itself, forcing viewers to engage with images on their own terms. It also reflects Hammons's long-standing critique of class and institutional power, as seen in documentation of his 2011 fur coat installation with Chie Hammons, which appears without gallery context, as if encountered spontaneously on the street.