Scott Burton

An unprecedented glimpse into the working methods and the complicated legacy of an important twentieth-century artist

Over the course of his more than three-decade career, Scott Burton (1939–1989) made groundbreaking contributions to sculpture, performance, public art, queer art, and criticism. Responding to what he identified as a gap between art and its potential audiences, Burton became a tireless advocate for accessible and popular artworks that everyday people could use and enjoy. In keeping with this principle, he also designed performances and "sculpture furniture" to explore and orchestrate social dynamics; he was particularly interested in intimacy, distance, collectivity, and isolation.

Scott Burton: Shape Shift provides a comprehensive overview of the artist's biography and career with texts focusing on his public artworks, performance, and innovative use of materials. Featuring more than forty full-page images of Burton's sculpture, which is rarely published, the book also includes numerous never-before-seen images of notes, photographs, and drawings from the artist's extensive personal archive, housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Scores and photographic documentation of newly commissioned performances on the occasion of the accompanying exhibition are also included.

Distributed for the Pulitzer Arts Foundation

Exhibition Schedule:

Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis

(September 6, 2024–February 2, 2025)

Wrightwood 659, Chicago

(October 3, 2025–January 31, 2026)

About the Author

Jess Wilcox is an independent curator.

Heather Alexis Smith is Assistant Curator at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.