Unlike unrealized architectural projects, which are frequently exhibited and circulated, unrealized artworks tend to remain unnoticed or little known. But perhaps there is another form of artistic agency in the partial expression, the incomplete idea, the projection of a mere intention? Agency of Unrealized Projects (AUP) seeks to document and display these works. Whether censored, forgotten, postponed, impossible, or rejected, unrealized projects form a unique testament to the speculative power of non-action.

AUP follows the publication entitled “Unbuilt Roads: 107 Unrealized Projects,” collated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Guy Tortosa after several years of international research conducted in the late 1990s. Twenty years later, the Agency of Unrealized Projects was formed in collaboration with Julieta Aranda and Anton Vidokle, and an open call for unrealized projects was issued for its first public exhibition at ArtBasel in 2011. The open call will continue until all unrealized art projects are compiled.

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons

The Clock - Ayse Erkmen

Project 1 + Project 2 - Simryn Gill

To Two Too; Hypothetical Monument for a Natural Disaster - Jeffrey Wisniewski

Aus: Katalog 'Kunst bleibt Kunst' - Hans Peter Feldman

Time Magazine Cover - Robert Rauschenberg

Unrealized Projects - Jonas Meckas

Entwurf für einen erneuerten Malkasten 1992 - 1994 - Ulrike Holthöfer

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4091
23.05.2011
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000002 - Stefano W. Pasquini
WWW
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000002: a found photo gets printed as big as a building. Please note that the bad quality of the files is due to the fact that scanners had a very low quality in 1994. You may see the whole series on http://stefanopasquini.net/con ...
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000002: a found photo gets printed as big as a building. Please note that the bad quality of the files is due to the fact that scanners had a very low quality in 1994. You may see the whole series on http://stefanopasquini.net/con ...
W4516
25.05.2011
Viktor Timofeev
WWW
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
W4304
24.05.2011
Three Great Waves - Holger C. Lönze
WWW
Three Great Waves Context The notion of the ‘three great waves’ begin to appear in Irish texts as early as the 12th century. The 15th century Cath Finntrágha has its literary structure taken from the older Cath Trága Rudraigi which is set in t ...
Three Great Waves Context The notion of the ‘three great waves’ begin to appear in Irish texts as early as the 12th century. The 15th century Cath Finntrágha has its literary structure taken from the older Cath Trága Rudraigi which is set in t ...
W3948
20.05.2011
¿Che pasa?/Doesn't matter! - Beatrice Crastini
WWW
Project presented to Frieze Committee, year 2009 In any case i think that this project was in advance before of the Italian "bungabunga" scandal. Project: ¿Che pasa?/Doesn't matter! Recession, crisis, war, record price per barrel, unemployment, ...
Project presented to Frieze Committee, year 2009 In any case i think that this project was in advance before of the Italian "bungabunga" scandal. Project: ¿Che pasa?/Doesn't matter! Recession, crisis, war, record price per barrel, unemployment, ...
W5086
09.09.2012
Underwater Forest - Hans Feyerabend
WWW
Underwater Forest Suspended sculpture for Palmetto Bay Village Hall, Florida Underwater Forest is a large sculptural installation suspended from a 30’ ceiling, measuring 18’ in diameter. Its formal language derived from amorphous maritime life. Th ...
Underwater Forest Suspended sculpture for Palmetto Bay Village Hall, Florida Underwater Forest is a large sculptural installation suspended from a 30’ ceiling, measuring 18’ in diameter. Its formal language derived from amorphous maritime life. Th ...
W3577
13.05.2011
DIMENSIONS VARIABLE: a proposal 07.2010! - Raul J Mendez
WWW
CONTEXT My work reads as a reconciliation of opposites between the private and the public. In other words, it is a codified puzzle of images that continues to grow and develop, drawing from my personal experience as well as from the public domain. There ...
CONTEXT My work reads as a reconciliation of opposites between the private and the public. In other words, it is a codified puzzle of images that continues to grow and develop, drawing from my personal experience as well as from the public domain. There ...
U9711
01.01.1989
2 Architecture Towers - Robert Irwin
Unbuilt Roads
A competition won in 1989 Tower One: was proposed to sit in a roundabout next to the Chicago river .. 65' (feet) in height, the base an octagonal cast iron construction stands on a slightly mounded cast rubber base ... eight triangular beams thrust upw ...
A competition won in 1989 Tower One: was proposed to sit in a roundabout next to the Chicago river .. 65' (feet) in height, the base an octagonal cast iron construction stands on a slightly mounded cast rubber base ... eight triangular beams thrust upw ...
W3632
14.05.2011
(model for) REMOTE CONTROLLED STARS or HOW TO CHANGE YOUR DESTINY - Mary Sherman
WWW
Once someone came up to the oh-so dandy J. McNeil Whistler and exclaimed that they were both from Lowell and just a year apart – he was 68; Whistler, 67. To which Whistler replied - for all to hear, of course - “Very charming! And so you are 68 and we ...
Once someone came up to the oh-so dandy J. McNeil Whistler and exclaimed that they were both from Lowell and just a year apart – he was 68; Whistler, 67. To which Whistler replied - for all to hear, of course - “Very charming! And so you are 68 and we ...
W4094
23.05.2011
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008 - Stefano W. Pasquini
WWW
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008: The gallery wall gets shot with a machine gun. The project almost got realized in 1996 in a gallery in Maastricht. Unfortunately the Dutch Police wouldn't allow the shooting to happen, even without public, and advised the us ...
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008: The gallery wall gets shot with a machine gun. The project almost got realized in 1996 in a gallery in Maastricht. Unfortunately the Dutch Police wouldn't allow the shooting to happen, even without public, and advised the us ...
U9523
18.02.1997
Projet pour la Place Saint Léger à Chambery  - Erik Dietman
Unbuilt Roads
Projet pour la Place Saint Léger à Chambery à l'occasion de l'exposition pour la préfiguration du Musée de sculptures de Buisson-Rond organisée par Françoise Guichon en 1982. Comme toutes Jes places publiques, la Place Saint Léger est peuplée ...
Projet pour la Place Saint Léger à Chambery à l'occasion de l'exposition pour la préfiguration du Musée de sculptures de Buisson-Rond organisée par Françoise Guichon en 1982. Comme toutes Jes places publiques, la Place Saint Léger est peuplée ...
W4118
23.05.2011
HOLYBOX, ARTE CONTEMPORANEA - Gennaro Cicalese
WWW
I call me post-fluxus painter, so, most part of my projects are draws that I use to preview my paintings. Sometimes I make draws that never becomes paintings, but just remains unrealized projects, ideas on paper... I send you two of this draws, two ...
I call me post-fluxus painter, so, most part of my projects are draws that I use to preview my paintings. Sometimes I make draws that never becomes paintings, but just remains unrealized projects, ideas on paper... I send you two of this draws, two ...
W5225
08.10.2012
Mystery of Vault 13 - Deivis Slavinskas
WWW
Artist Name: Deivis Slavinskas Email: studio@slavinskas.com Website: http://www.Slavinskas.com Artwork * Please note that all the following information is for the reference only and is subject to change during the development Photos: Artist' ...
Artist Name: Deivis Slavinskas Email: studio@slavinskas.com Website: http://www.Slavinskas.com Artwork * Please note that all the following information is for the reference only and is subject to change during the development Photos: Artist' ...
W3966
21.05.2011
D.V. Rogers
WWW
LAMoves (LA*02010) - Are You Prepared? Pershing Square, Los Angeles, California 14th October - 21st October 2010 ©© D.V. Rogers 02010 url: http://la02010.allshookup.org Are You Sure You're Prepared? LAMoves was a socially driven, art-science ...
LAMoves (LA*02010) - Are You Prepared? Pershing Square, Los Angeles, California 14th October - 21st October 2010 ©© D.V. Rogers 02010 url: http://la02010.allshookup.org Are You Sure You're Prepared? LAMoves was a socially driven, art-science ...
W4151
23.05.2011
The Treason of Images - Cornford & Cross
WWW
We were invited to submit a proposal for the Imperial War Museum, London, Commission on the aftermath of 11 September and war in Afghanistan. We proposed to install a short section of oil pipeline in Afghanistan, somewhere along one of the intended route ...
We were invited to submit a proposal for the Imperial War Museum, London, Commission on the aftermath of 11 September and war in Afghanistan. We proposed to install a short section of oil pipeline in Afghanistan, somewhere along one of the intended route ...
W3582
13.05.2011
Umfassung (verborgen) - Sabine Hagmann
WWW
Idee Der Perimeter des St. Johanns-Platz wird während einem Jahr exakt mit einer zweieinhalb Meter hohen Wand eingefasst. Sie schliesst das ganze Gelände ein, mit Rasen, Wegen und Parkbänken. Die kleine Rasenfläche wird durch die Wand als Volu ...
Idee Der Perimeter des St. Johanns-Platz wird während einem Jahr exakt mit einer zweieinhalb Meter hohen Wand eingefasst. Sie schliesst das ganze Gelände ein, mit Rasen, Wegen und Parkbänken. Die kleine Rasenfläche wird durch die Wand als Volu ...
W4518
25.05.2011
Viktor Timofeev
WWW
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
U9759
06.04.1997
Monument to Democracy - Kounellis
Unbuilt Roads
La scultura doveva essere posata davanti alla nuova ala del parlamento olandese di Den Haag. Sono partito dalla struttura ampia, di grande presenza, degll fumaioli che si vedevano sui tetto del vecchio parlamento. Questa strutture architectonica era diven ...
La scultura doveva essere posata davanti alla nuova ala del parlamento olandese di Den Haag. Sono partito dalla struttura ampia, di grande presenza, degll fumaioli che si vedevano sui tetto del vecchio parlamento. Questa strutture architectonica era diven ...
W5121
18.09.2012
Mo White
WWW
In 2009 I made a film whose completion has been continually postponed. I made the film quickly with materials to hand, in Super 8 format. The making of the work was an immediate reaction and response to a small event. ‘In March 2009 I bought a lime ...
In 2009 I made a film whose completion has been continually postponed. I made the film quickly with materials to hand, in Super 8 format. The making of the work was an immediate reaction and response to a small event. ‘In March 2009 I bought a lime ...
W4637
25.05.2011
Tesseract - Darr Tah Lei
WWW
Inside a Tesseract is a project for a polyptych of six installations placed inside the structure of an imaginary folding/unfolding cube. The content of the six installations will correlate to each other organically, by the composition of essential element ...
Inside a Tesseract is a project for a polyptych of six installations placed inside the structure of an imaginary folding/unfolding cube. The content of the six installations will correlate to each other organically, by the composition of essential element ...
W5295
17.10.2012
Tomb of the Unknown Broker - Andreas Kopp
WWW
To the unknown Broker / Tomb of the Unknown Broker ( Dem unbekannten Broker ) a monument about artistic vision as social comment The installation (Tomb of an Unknown Broker) is dedicated to the virtual character of an Unidentified Broker. It highl ...
To the unknown Broker / Tomb of the Unknown Broker ( Dem unbekannten Broker ) a monument about artistic vision as social comment The installation (Tomb of an Unknown Broker) is dedicated to the virtual character of an Unidentified Broker. It highl ...
U9853
01.01.1972
Progetto per Gerry Schum - Guiseppe Penone
Unbuilt Roads
Ogni anno un giro di 60" attorno ad un albero seguendo un cerchio fisso. Le riprese montate in successione anno per anno testimoniano la crescita concentrica del tronco. Progetto per Gerry Schum. Novembre 1972. Giuseppe Penone ...
Ogni anno un giro di 60" attorno ad un albero seguendo un cerchio fisso. Le riprese montate in successione anno per anno testimoniano la crescita concentrica del tronco. Progetto per Gerry Schum. Novembre 1972. Giuseppe Penone ...
W4388
25.05.2011
THIS ISA NICE NEIGHBORHOOD - MARTINEZ PETROPOULOS WHITE
WWW
THIS ISA NICE NEIGHBORHOOD Moscone Center/Howard Street Project, San Francisco, CA 1991 Located two blocks south of Market Street, the site is the space between two Convention Centers – six lanes of traffic, with two sets of three lane bus and taxi ...
THIS ISA NICE NEIGHBORHOOD Moscone Center/Howard Street Project, San Francisco, CA 1991 Located two blocks south of Market Street, the site is the space between two Convention Centers – six lanes of traffic, with two sets of three lane bus and taxi ...
W4814
07.08.2012
Peace Team - Adam Uriel Ruff
WWW
U9651
19.02.1997
Douglas Gordon - 5 year drive-by; proposal for a public artwork.
Unbuilt Roads
Originally presented at the Biennale de Lyon, 1995. The work is something of a companion piece to 24 Hour Psycho but it may, appear to be a little more extreme in some ways. I want to work with John Ford's film The Searchers which is, I think, the ar ...
Originally presented at the Biennale de Lyon, 1995. The work is something of a companion piece to 24 Hour Psycho but it may, appear to be a little more extreme in some ways. I want to work with John Ford's film The Searchers which is, I think, the ar ...
W5390
20.10.2012
Jesvin Yeo
WWW
Unrealized Project by Jesvin Yeo The initial intention of this project was to design and create a series of dolls to illustrate the dark period of Singapore in 1950s. When there had been more than 30 secret societies and almost everyday, there were gan ...
Unrealized Project by Jesvin Yeo The initial intention of this project was to design and create a series of dolls to illustrate the dark period of Singapore in 1950s. When there had been more than 30 secret societies and almost everyday, there were gan ...
W4887
10.08.2012
Caravan Tour - An Inverted World - Ann Messner
WWW
caravan tour — an inverted world A Proposal for a Transportable Camera Obscura for the Courts of Lower Manhattan The Lower Manhattan court buildings in their neoclassical grandeur and scale endure as visual tropes of the solidity of the power of justice ...
caravan tour — an inverted world A Proposal for a Transportable Camera Obscura for the Courts of Lower Manhattan The Lower Manhattan court buildings in their neoclassical grandeur and scale endure as visual tropes of the solidity of the power of justice ...