Parkett

Parkett
Title	Parkett
Frequency	Semiannual
Category	Contemporary art
Firstdate	1984
Finaldate	2016
Country	Switzerland
Based	Zurich
Language	English, German

Parkett

Parkett was a Zurich-based contemporary art magazine founded in 1984, known for its collaborations between writers, artists, curators, and institutions including Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, and Stedelijk Museum. The publication brought together major figures from movements associated with Minimalism, Conceptual art, Pop Art, Postmodernism, and Relational aesthetics while engaging with artists such as Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Martin Kippenberger, and Sigmar Polke. Over its run Parkett produced bilingual issues in English and German, featuring interviews, artist projects, monographs, and critical essays involving contributors connected to Artforum, Flash Art, Frieze, and institutions like The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

History

Parkett was established by a group of editors and publishers in Zurich amid a European scene that included Documenta, Venice Biennale, Skulptur Projekte Münster, Biennale de Lyon, and galleries such as Gagosian Gallery and Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder. Early issues coincided with exhibitions by Joseph Beuys, Marina Abramović, Anselm Kiefer, Bas Jan Ader, and curated projects organized by figures like Harald Szeemann and Hans Ulrich Obrist. The magazine evolved through the 1980s art market expansion alongside institutions such as Metropolitan Museum of Art and collectors like Peggy Guggenheim and Charles Saatchi. In the 1990s and 2000s Parkett navigated shifting platforms from print to digital, responding to discourses around YBAs, Young British Artists, the emergence of Ai Weiwei, and the influence of art fairs including Art Basel and Arco Madrid. Financial and structural pressures mirrored those confronting independent cultural magazines like October and Art in America, culminating in Parkett's final regular publication phase in the 2010s.

Editorial Profile and Content

Each bilingual issue typically centered on invited collaborations between artists and writers, pairing figures such as Louise Bourgeois, Bruce Nauman, Kara Walker, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Robert Rauschenberg with critics and scholars from institutions like Whitney Museum of American Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and universities including Columbia University and Goldsmiths, University of London. The editorial approach blended artist editions, portfolio works, photographic documentation, and essays by contributors affiliated with Artforum, Parkett Verlag, The New York Times, and The Guardian. Topics ranged from monographic surveys on Pipilotti Rist and Andreas Gursky to thematic engagements with movements linked to Fluxus, Situationist International, and Conceptual photography. Regular features included dialogues with curators such as Okwui Enwezor, Nicholas Serota, and Chris Dercon.

Contributors and Collaborations

Parkett commissioned original projects from artists including Marcel Duchamp-referencing practitioners and contemporary figures like Daniel Buren, Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread, Ai Weiwei, Matthew Barney, and Marina Abramović. Collaborating writers and critics ranged from Rosalind Krauss and Hal Foster to Lucy Lippard and Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, alongside journalists from The New Yorker, Die Zeit, and Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The magazine partnered with museums and foundations such as Fondation Beyeler, Kunsthaus Zürich, Serpentine Galleries, MOCA, and galleries including Perrotin and Hauser & Wirth for commissions, exhibitions, and special editions. Editorial collaborations extended to curatorial projects intertwined with biennials like Venice Biennale, Istanbul Biennial, and São Paulo Art Biennial.

Design and Production

Parkett was noted for high production values, typographic decisions influenced by designers who worked with Die Neue Sammlung and studios associated with Massimo Vignelli-inspired modernist systems. Printing and reproduction quality paralleled museum catalogues from Rizzoli and publishers like Thames & Hudson and Phaidon. The magazine often included limited artist multiples and inserts produced in collaboration with printers and ateliers linked to Werkstätte Hagenauer-style craftsmanship and contemporary print workshops in Berlin, New York City, and Tokyo. The layout foregrounded large-format photography, conceptual graphic sequences, and bilingual text blocks, engaging translators and editors connected to Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press networks.

Distribution and Circulation

Parkett circulated internationally through museum bookstores at MoMA, Tate Modern, and Centre Pompidou, specialist retailers such as Printed Matter, Inc. and distributors operating at Frieze Art Fair and Art Basel. Subscriptions reached collectors, curators, academics from Harvard University, Yale University, University of California, Los Angeles, and libraries like The Getty Research Institute and The Library of Congress. The magazine established relationships with cultural funding bodies including Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and foundations such as Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen to support production and distribution logistics across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Reception and Influence

Parkett received critical attention in publications like The New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Le Monde and was discussed in scholarly contexts alongside journals October and Art Journal. Critics and academics credited Parkett with shaping dialogues about contemporary art practices linked to artists such as Jeff Wall and Nan Goldin and influencing curatorial discourse in institutions including Tate Modern and MoMA PS1. The magazine’s model of artist-writer collaboration informed later projects by independent publishers like E-flux and influenced exhibition cataloguing strategies at major museums.

Archive and Legacy

Parkett’s editorial archives and artist editions have been acquired or referenced by repositories including Museum of Modern Art Library, Getty Research Institute, Swiss National Library, and private collections associated with collectors like Geraldine Norman and Robert Mapplethorpe estates. The body of work remains a resource for researchers, curators, and students studying post-1980 contemporary art movements, artist collaborations, and publication practices, often cited in dissertations at institutions like Goldsmiths, Columbia University, and Courtauld Institute of Art. Parkett’s legacy continues through reprints, retrospective exhibitions, and digital cataloguing projects inspired by archives at Digital Public Library of America-style initiatives.

Category:Art magazines Category:Contemporary art