Since her debut exhibition in New York in 1965, Sturtevant has notoriously insisted on the power of thought, performing investigations into the underlying structure of art.

Her legendary repetitions of works by other artists is a groundbreaking achievement in challenging concepts such as originality, authenticity, and the conventions surrounding authorship. Her first artistic statements are contemporary with, or indeed predate, the most famous essays and lectures on the subject by Barthes, Foucault, and Deleuze.

In recent years, Sturtevant has expanded her practice to include mass-media images and her own filmed material. This has shed new light on her career and emphasises how her life-long artistic practice has continuously and effectively levelled harsh, rebellious, and intelligent critique at a society that consists increasingly of simulacra and the experience industry. At the last Venice Biennial, Sturtevant was awarded the Golden Lion for her lifetime achievement in the arts.

This publication has been produced on the occasion of Sturtevant's exhibition at Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Kunsthalle Zürich, where an array of her best known projects along with recent ones is represented.