A decade of Ghislaine Leung’s inventive “scores” and practices, revealing the fluid, rigorous, and evolving vision of a leading contemporary artist.
Ghislaine Leung is an artist whose practice unfolds through concise “scores”—written instructions that indicate how a work is to be realized, interpreted, and performed by institutions, collaborators, or participants. These scores investigate value, labor, and the systems that shape art’s production and presentation, among other things, while leaving room for flexibility and variation in their execution. Her 2024 solo exhibition Holdings at the Renaissance Society provided the occasion for the present publication, which extends and deepens the insights of the show into a decade-long portrait of her work.
Spanning ten years of Leung’s practice, the book offers a richer and more expansive perspective than has previously been available. Rather than presenting a definitive interpretation or career survey, it extends an open-handed invitation into a world defined by fluidity and openness. At its heart lies a comprehensive “inventory,” comprising two complementary lists that Leung has never published before: a complete record of her works since 2015, and a set of personal “sub-scores”—self-instructions or protocols that relate to how she works, how she participates, and how her life beyond art intersects with her creative practice.
The publication is further enriched by essays and conversations from a range of writers, curators, and collaborators, offering diverse perspectives on Leung’s scores, sub-scores, and evolving practice. Together, these contributions illuminate the themes, processes, and relationships that have shaped her work, creating a comprehensive yet open-ended introduction to one of contemporary art’s most inventive and distinctive voices.
By (artist):
Ghislaine Leung
Contributions by:
Hettie Judah,
Karsten Lund,
Mike Sperlinger,
Eleanor Ivory Weber
Imprint: Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 248mm,
Width: 200mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 821g
ISBN: 9780941548922
ISBN 10: 0941548929
Pages: 292
Publication Date: 10 October 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
4. Sub-Scores 6. Works (Scores, Non-scores), Ghislaine Leung. 15. Introduction. 22. Images. 239. ""On Making Art Possible,"" Hettie Judah. 243. ""Ten Years' Time,"" Karsten Lund. 253. ""Wants Synecdoche,"" Eleanor Ivory Weber. ""Let a thousand stipulations bloom: Ghislaine Leung's scorings,"" Mike Sperlinger. 273. ""Ghost Singers, Crowd Pleasers, and Non-Participation,"" a conversation with Bruce Hainley, Karsten Lund, Ramaya Tegegne, and Helena Vilalta. 288. Biographies. 289 Acknowledgments. 290. image Credits. 292 Colophon.
Ghislaine Leung is an artist who lives and works in London. Her work embodies a steady effort to unravel value structures and the dynamics of labor in different contexts, including the systems that are devoted to art’s production, presentation, and distribution. She was nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize in 2023. Bosses, a collection of Leung’s writings, was released that same year.
