In Conversations with Robert Barry, the artist goes into conversation with Franz W. Kaiser and Greta Meert. In spite of many published interviews with Robert Barry, these conversations may stand as exceptional examples of oral history about the early days of Conceptual Art, as well as about the significance of Robert Barry’s oeuvre. They may further the understanding of his work and also help to appreciate how different original Conceptual Art is from today’s supposed successors.

This small monograph follows the set-up of Robert Barry’s artistic programs within the corporate spaces of a bank and the ways he conceived simultaneously his site-specificity and his break away from this framework.
The book is published by the commissioner, BSI (Banca della Svizzera Italiana), as part of their Art Program, relaunched in 2005 by the Italian curator and critic Luca Cerizza. Stemming from a program of site-specific commissions for the bank, the books in this series are conceived as individual monographs on each artist’s contribution. Gathering preparatory material, documentation on the works, and essays by critics or the artists themselves, these volumes contribute to the discussion around commissioning, the notions of public vs. private