The last few decades have witnessed an explosion in ideas and theories on art. Art itself has never been more popular, but much recent thinking remains inaccessible and difficult to use. This book assesses the work of leading thinkers (including artists) who are having a major impact on making, criticizing and interpreting art. Each entry, written by a leading international expert, presents a concise, critical appraisal of a thinker and their contribution to thought about art and its place in the wider cultural context. A guide to the key thinkers who shape today's world of art, this book is a.;I: Art theory and practice -- Daniel Buren (1938- ) / Melanie Marino -- Dan Graham (1942- ) / Eric de Bruyn -- Mike Kelley (1954- ) / John Welchman -- Mary Kelly (1941- ) / Margaret Iversen -- Joseph Kosuth (1945- ) / Michael Corris -- Barbara Kruger (1945- ) / Esther Leslie -- Robert Morris (1931- ) / Jonathan Vickery -- Adrian Piper (1948- ) / Robert del Principe -- Robert Smithson (1938-1973) / Dominic Rahtz -- Jeff Wall (1946- ) / Stewart Martin -- II: Art theory and history -- Nicolas Bourriaud (1965- ) / Claire Bishop -- Benjamin Buchloh (1941- ) / Christine Mehring -- T.J. Clark (1943- ) / Dominic Willsdon -- Thierry de Duve (1944- ) / Gregg Horowitz -- James Elkins (1955- ) / Robert Williams -- Hal Foster (1955- ) / Gordon Hughes -- Michael Fried (1939- ) / Stephen Melville -- Clement Greenberg (1909-1994) / Diarmuid Costello -- Rosalind Krauss (1940- ) / Martha Buskirk -- W.J.T. Mitchell (1942- ) / Riccardo Marchi -- Linda Nochlin (1931- ) / Francesca Berry -- Griselda Pollock (1949- ) / Kirstie Skinner -- III: Philosophy of art and aesthetics -- Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) / Michael Kelly -- J.M. Berstein (1947- ) / Espen Hammer -- Nâel Carroll (1947- ) / Katerina Reed-Tsocha -- Stanley Cavell (1926- ) / Stephen Mulhall -- Arthur C. Danto (1924- ) / David Carrier -- Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) / Darren Ambrose -- Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) / Jonathan Lahey Dronsfield -- George Dickie (1926- ) / Cain Samuel Todd -- Jean François Lyotard (1924-1998) / James Williams -- Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) / Alex Potts -- Albrecht Wellmer (1933- ) / Ruth M. Sonderegger -- Richard Wollheim (1923-2003) / Derek Matravers -- IV: Theory and philosophy of culture -- Roland Barthes (1915-1980) / Nancy Shawcross -- Georges Bataille (1897-1961) / Michael Richardson -- Jean Baudrillard (1929- ) / Mike Gane -- Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) / Helmut Schmitz -- Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) / Gordon Fyfe -- Judith Butler (1956- ) / Rebecca Zorach -- Michel Foucault (1926-1984) / Scott Durham -- Fredric Jameson (1934- ) / David Ayers -- Melanie Klein (1882-1960) / Mignon Nixon -- Julia Kristeva (1941- ) / Sara Beardsworth -- Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) / Francis Halsall.