The book critically examines the Works for Sale series by the Austrian conceptual artist Kurt Ryslavy, which may be regarded as the magnum opus of his nearly forty years of artistic practice. Works for Sale are immaterial sculptures. The central concept is the idea of buying or selling the work of another artist under the title Work for Sale and under Ryslavy’s name.

First shown in Ghent in 1992, the Works for Sale were later included in Kasper König’s Skulptur Projekte Münster in 1997. They attracted international attention but were never sold in an institutional context. The documentation, certificates, and packaging that accompany the Works for Sale are merely material accessories, reflecting a failure to understand the intangible nature of the work.