Liam Gillick entered the art world near the end of the 1980s as one of the early Young British Artists (YBA) generation. Since then he has lectured, written books, participated in numerous exhibitions and curated several others, all the while philosophically exploring art's role and function in the context of capitalism. He is now one of the most influential artists in the world. His career is full of high-profile milestones such as his nomination in 2002 for the Turner Prize, his work on the exterior of the British Home Office building between 2003 and 2005, the retrospective exhibitions held in four prestigious art museums in Europe and US during 2008 – 2010, and representation of Germany at the Venice Biennale in 2009.

Gillick's artworks are generally project-based. In other words, he orchestrates a whole project in the context of the given space, from deciding the theme down to designing the way the works are to be installed. The entire project in this case is an artwork. This is an attempt to encourage the audience to take in the entire exhibition as a theoretical and public project rather than focus on individual artworks; so as to overturn the traditional art-audience relationship.9 This show at the Gallery Ihn titled 'Five Structures and a Shanty' is no exception. Gillick has planned to showcase five aluminum sculptures—2 free-standing and 3 wall-mounted pieces—and a text that is to be hung on a wall. The color-coated aluminum sculptures and text-based installation are, in fact, among the most well-known of his works.

Liam Gillick, as may be gleaned from his work and activities, is like a prophet. Yet, he does not propose solutions in the form of his works nor does he send deliberately enlightening messages. His art is always in that vague and tentative state, evading attempts to define them with concrete language, and from there it searches for the potential to engage in diverse discourses and new creative activities. Despite access to his prolific oeuvre we are still unable to make clear interpretations of his works.

Courtesy of Gallery IHN