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How to Write About Contemporary Art is the definitive guide to writing engagingly about the art of our time. The book first navigates readers through the key elements of style and content, from the aims and structure of a piece to its tone and language. Brimming with practical tips including academic essays; press releases and news articles; texts for auction and exhibition catalogues, gallery guides and wall labels; op-ed journalism and exhibition reviews; and writing for websites and blogs.

This best-selling text guides art students through the writing process. Students are shown how to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and are prepared with the tools they need to present their ideas through effective writing.

Artists need to write, every day, to support their studio practice and careers. Conversational and instructive, this practical primer helps artists learn the best writing and research strategies for their letters, biographies, statements, proposals, applications, wall text, and more. Kate Kramer, lecturer in critical writing at the University of Pennsylvania, aligns writing strategies with art school curriculum (foundations, topics, capstones, professional development).

The most comprehensive portrait of art criticism ever assembled, as told by the leading writers of our time. In the last fifty years, art criticism has flourished as never before.