Born 1968 in Zurich, Switzerland, Obrist currently lives and works in London, where he is co-director of exhibitions and programs as well as director of international projects at the Serpentine Gallery. Obrist’s prolific career has included such accomplishments as curator of the Museum in Progress, Vienna (1993-2000), curator at the Musée d’Art Moderne (2000-today), and curator and co-curator for more than 200 solo and group exhibitions and biennials internationally since 1991. Obrist’s other accomplishments also include the New York Prize Senior Fellowship for 2007-08 from the Van Alen Institute, and roles as a contributing editor for Abitare, Artforum, and Paradis Magazine.

As part of Sculpture for Strolling (2005), Pistoletto advises participants: "After reading the daily newspaper, immerse it in water then form a small sphere by compressing the wet newspaper with one's hands. Enlarge the sphere by adding new daily newspapers soaked in water. Continue this procedure until the sphere is a meter in diameter. When well dried out, roll the newspaper sphere outside in the streets and the squares as a "sculpture for strolling."

Berkeley, CA based artist Lutz Bacher provides a much needed dose of reality for her do it instructions. Instructions for do it, 2012, Courtesy of artist.

Though we’ve yet to try it for accuracy, artist Alexandre Singh demonstrates how to turn wine into Pepsi. Alexandre Singh, Instructions for do it, 2012, Courtesy of artist,

For his contribution to do it, Thai artist Rikrit Tiravanija includes a recipe for a spicy paste. The above image and demonstration come from the vast archives maintained by ICI.

Though not included in the book, Claire Fontaine’s piece is poignantly minimalist, and majorly straight to the point. Claire Fontaine, Instructions for do it, 2012, Courtesy of artist.

Oscillating from the light-hearted to the profound, some of the most intriguing instructions are also the simplest. Jérôme Bel Shirtology, 2012 © Tate, 2012; Photo: Tate Photography, Gabrielle Fonseca Johnson

No stranger to taking on multiple projects across disciplines, a playful David Lynch demonstrated how to make a ricky board. David Lynch, Do It: How To Make A Ricky Board, 2012, Courtesy of artist.

According to ICI: “Featured in at least 50 different locations worldwide, including Australia, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Costa Rica, Slovenia and Uruguay… The driving force behind the exhibition is aptly summarized in the words of Marcel Duchamp, who states that ‘art is a game between all people of all periods.’ He is only one of several predecessors to have shaped the modus operandi of [do it], which also draws from…art of the 1960s and 1970s as well as Fluxus practices.” Called a “middle finger to Art” by some, this project deliberately tries to hone the anything goes attitude which has fueled revelatory movements ranging from Conceptual and Minimalism to punk rock.

Making a splashy entrance at this year’s NADA Art Fair, do it’s booth created a wall-to-wall forest of orange tomes and installations for visitors to peak at.

do it: the compendium, Independent Curators International (ICI), New York and D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., May 2013, 448 pages. ISBN: 978-1-938922-01-5. Foreword and acknowledgements by Kate Fowle and Frances Wu Giarratano. Introduction by Hans Ulrich Obrist. Essays by Bruce Altshuler, Hu Fang, Virginia Perez-Ratton, and Elizabeth Presa. Available to purchase at Curators International.

Hans Ulrich Obrist was invited by Kazuyo Sejima to interview all of the Biennale participants, an endeavor modeled after the 24-Hour Interview Marathon that launched the 2006 Serpentine Gallery. I sat here for awhile in this transformed audio/visual library, where Obrist framed a place where visitors can 'meet' the architects while resting their weary limbs.

An artist and an architect built their home, studios, and an exhibition space inside a lushly landscaped Antwerp warehouse.

Luceplan commissioned up-and-coming Norwegian designer Daniel Rybakken for this streamlined Compendium floor lamp.

A built-in closet and chalkboard surface in the entry keeps things tidy and the couple's to-do list in order.

Oak floors, neutral furnishings, and an area rug by Han Feng for Tai Ping warm the office, as does the view of surrounding treetops. “You really feel as if you’re in the canopy,” says architect Takashi Yanai. A vintage Louis Vuitton trunk serves as a coffee table.

Amidst the vintage furnishings—including pieces by Hans Olsen, Paul McCobb, and Hans Wegner—Stevens works an array of musical gear.

Interior designer Danielle Roberts sought practical materials for the living room, such as custom wide-wale upholstery for a CB2 sofa. The fallen-wood coffee table is by St. Louis–based designer David Stine; the chair is by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn.

Perhaps the family’s biggest priority was their connection to the outdoors. The north-facing facade is almost entirely made up of operable windows with screens for ventilation and—a favorite of Jeff, the family father—listening to the lullabye of cicadas and spring peeper frogs during the summer. The joint living and dining area features a Wishbone chairs by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son, a Groundpiece sofa from Flexform, David Weeks' Tripod No. 303 floor lamp, and PP Møbler's Circle Chair and Fruit Table. The latter two are also by Hans Wegner.

During a Danish furniture trade show, Dr. Eigill Snorrason critiqued the industry for not paying enough attention to ergonomics. The Swivel Chair (1955) Wegner’s rejoinder of sorts, an elegant backrest of hand-carved wood that’s been compared to a gently bent propeller. The smooth lines, thin profile and wheels invite a sure-footed slide across any office. Manufactured by PP Møbler. Photo by Jens Mourits Sørensen.

It requires roughly ten hours for a craftsman to weave paper cord across the curved frame of this oak Easy Chair (1950) before it’s complete. Another example of Wegner melding design and material without unnecessary fuss or adornment. Photo courtesy Carl Hansen & Son.

Among the family heirlooms on display are a pair of Hans Wegner Shell chairs from 1963, a rug picked up on vacation in Tibet, and a coffee table made by one of the homeowners’ grandfathers.

Ineke Hans, Fracture series, 2007.

Ineke Hans, My Storage, 2011.

Austrian Culture Minister Josef Ostermayer described Hollein as "a master architect, inspiring teacher (and) visionary."

Hollein’s design for this edgy contemporary art museum integrated angular structures amidst the cathedral and abbey of a quaint baroque village in West Germany, and managed to make it a striking yet seamless part of the landscape. The array of spaces, shapes, and designs was meant to present diverse means of presentation, yet stand on its own as a work of art.

The designers explain, “These steel windows played an integral part in making the interior feel larger and more open by blurring the boundaries between the interior and exterior.” A grey Halcyon Lake area rug, an oak chair from MAP, and Hans Wenger Wishbone chairs make for a simple, neutral palette. The painting over the fireplace is by Kate Hendry.

Wishbone Chair by Hans Wegner

A touch of nostalgia marks the upstairs home office, furnished with several vintage pieces: a teak Danish dresser, a Hans Wegner armchair, and Jo Hammerborg’s 1962 Orient pendant, made from a copper shade with rosewood detailing.

Arctis Chair by Hans Brattrud One of more than 500 pieces of furniture and decorative arts being displayed at "Norwegian Icons," a massive exhibition coming to Openhouse Galleryin New York on May 23, 2014. Photo by Blomqvist for Norwegian Icons

A Flag Halyard chair by Hans Wegner in long-haired sheepskin occupies one end of the living room.

More fun than it may sound, the volcano amusement park, designed by Hollein, features a metaphorical volcano (pictured above), lined in steel, dark stone, and gold, that provides a colorful symbol of geo-thermic power.

The Flex table features a laminate surface set atop solid-wood legs. The tabletop is avalable in white, light gray, and graphite, and it comes in six dimensions.

Here, a Flex table and chairs are paired with a set of Zig Zag chairs, which Markus Johansson also designed for Hans K.

The tables come with round or square legs in a choice of four colors.