Parkett
Parkett is a Swiss art publisher (founded 1984, Zurich) that published 101 volumes of contemporary art paired with 270 limited-edition artworks from 1984-2017, and now monetizes its archive via digital products, museum exhibitions, and viewing rooms in Zurich and New York, serving collectors and institutions globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Parkett does
Parkett is a privately held Swiss art publisher founded in 1984 by Bice Curiger, Jacqueline Burckhardt, and Dieter von Graffenried, operating as "Parkett" Publishers Ltd. headquartered in Zurich with a New York office. Between 1984 and 2017, the company published 101 volumes featuring 270 contemporary artists from over 40 countries, each volume pairing three to five scholarly texts by renowned authors and curators with a limited-edition original artwork created by the collaborating artist. The model uniquely combined scholarly publishing with editioned art — functioning as both a small museum and a large library of contemporary art. Following the closure of its print run in December 2017, Parkett transitioned to a digital/physical archive model, offering the Virtual Museum Tour, the 'A Time Capsule' eBook catalog raisonné (available in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), viewing rooms in Zurich and New York, and travelling museum exhibitions at institutions including MoMA, Tate, Pompidou, and LUMA Arles.
The business model rests on multiple revenue streams: standard book sales (€32-€39), special box sets and CD-ROMs (€35-€750), limited edition artworks (€600-€7,500+), and digital catalogue raisonné products. Distribution combines direct online sales via parkettart.com, regional wholesale distributors (D.A.P. for the US, Central Books for the UK, GVA for Germany, Idea Books for the Netherlands, Scheidegger for Switzerland), and art fair participation (Art Basel, IFPDA, Nomad St. Moritz). Customer segments split between individual art collectors acquiring editions and a global roster of museums/institutions plus academic libraries acquiring the archive for research and exhibition purposes. The company employs 11-50 staff and remains founder-led, with no institutional investment, M&A, or funding rounds disclosed in the source material.
Parkett firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Parkett
- Legal name
- "Parkett" Publishers Ltd.
- Website
- https://parkettart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Parkett is a Swiss art publisher (founded 1984, Zurich) that published 101 volumes of contemporary art paired with 270 limited-edition artworks from 1984-2017, and now monetizes its archive via digital products, museum exhibitions, and viewing rooms in Zurich and New York, serving collectors and institutions globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Parkett industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contemporary Art Publishing
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Art, Photography & Illustrated Books Publishing (MPAJAAAF)
Keywords
Where Parkett is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zürich
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Parkett business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Book Sales: Sale of 101 Parkett volumes published between 1984-2017, each containing three to five texts by renowned authors and curators on contemporary artists
- Limited Edition Artworks: Sale of editioned artworks created in direct collaboration with artists, ranging from prints, sculptures, installations, media works, to paintings and drawings. Editions are sold at various price points (€39-€7,500+)
- Special Book Titles: Sale of special book titles including exhibition catalogs, the Parkett Reader series, and limited edition publications
- Artist Inserts: Sale of special limited edition inserts - original artists' bookpage projects made directly for Parkett magazine
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Parkett Books |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Artist Editions - Print Works |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Artist Editions - Objects |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Artist Editions - Premium |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Special Limited Editions |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | eBook Catalog Raisonné |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels5 records
Parkett product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Parkett publishes dual-language (English/German) art books in direct collaboration with contemporary artists, with each volume featuring three to five scholarly texts by renowned authors and curators paired with a limited-edition artwork created by the collaborating artist. The company has produced 101 volumes (1984-2017) covering 270 artists from over 40 countries, and additionally offers a digital eBook catalog raisonné (A Time Capsule), special limited-edition publications, traveling museum exhibitions, and viewing room access in Zurich and New York.
Product overview
Parkett is an art publication company that created a unique hybrid of a small museum and large library through direct collaborations with contemporary artists. The core offering consists of 101 Parkett volumes (1984-2017) featuring artist portraits with scholarly texts, paired with 270 limited-edition artworks created specially by collaborating artists. These are complemented by the digital A Time Capsule eBook catalog raisonné, virtual museum tours, physical viewing rooms in Zurich and New York, museum exhibition services, and the Parkett Inserts series of original artists' bookpage projects. The complete collection serves museums, readers, libraries and collectors worldwide as a 33-year time capsule of contemporary art.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Parkett Volumes (Books) A collection of 101 dual-language art publications (1984-2017) featuring collaborations with contemporary artists. Each volume contains three to five scholarly texts by renowned authors and curators on a featured artist, with editioned artworks created by each collaborating artist.
- Parkett Editions (Artist Editions)
Quantifiable outcome
- 33 years of continuous publication (1984-2017)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Parkett
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Parkett technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Parkett partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Ikkan Art LLCcoreJoint presenter of 'The Complete Parkett Collection: A Chronicle of Contemporary Art' exhibition at Artspace @ Helutrans, Singapore (March 8-31, 2024), marking the first time the complete collection was presented in its entirety.
- STPI Creative Workshop & GallerycoreJoint presenter of the Singapore exhibition showcasing all 101 Parkett volumes and 270 editioned artworks created in collaboration with contemporary artists from 1984 to 2017.
- LUMA ArlescorePermanent archive room at LUMA Arles featuring Parkett collections, with first focus on Sigmar Polke's three collaborations with Parkett spanning ten years. Opened 2021.
- D.A.P. / Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.coreExclusive distributor for United States and other territories. Located at 155 Av. of the Americas, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10013.
- Central BookscoreDistributor for Great Britain and other territories. Located at 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN.
- GVA Verlagsservice GöttingencoreDistributor for Germany and other territories. Based in Göttingen, Germany.
- Idea BookscoreDistributor for Netherlands. Located at Nieuwe Herengracht 11, NL-1011 RK Amsterdam.
- Scheidegger & Co. / AVAcoreDistributor for Switzerland. Located at Centralweg 16, CH-8910 Affoltern a. A.
- Helu-Trans (S) Pte LtdminorSponsor of the Complete Parkett Collection exhibition at Artspace @ Helutrans, Singapore (March 2024).
- David Zwirner GalleryminorHosted 'For Keeps: Selected Parkett Editions' exhibition at their 537 West 20th Street location in New York, June-August 2022, featuring work by more than forty artists.
- MBAL (Musée des beaux-arts, Le Locle)minorHosted Triennale exhibition 'Elles - de A à Z' featuring all works made by women for Parkett (October 2021 - January 2022).
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Parkett competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aperture Foundation: Aperture Foundation is a New York-based nonprofit photography publisher producing books, a quarterly magazine (Aperture Magazine), and exhibitions. Like Parkett, Aperture combines publishing with curatorial/exhibition programming and serves institutional and collector audiences, though its focus is exclusively on photography rather than broader contemporary art.
- Phaidon Press: Phaidon Press is a London/New York-based publisher specializing in visual arts, architecture, design, photography, and contemporary culture books. It shares Parkett's positioning as a premium art book publisher serving museums, institutions, and discerning collectors, though Phaidon's catalog is broader and lacks Parkett's artist-edition co-creation model.
- Artforum: Artforum is a long-established contemporary art magazine and publisher serving collectors, curators, and critics. Like Parkett, Artforum occupies a premium cultural-publishing position in the contemporary art ecosystem, though Artforum ceased print publication in 2023 and does not produce limited-edition artworks.
- Printed Matter: Printed Matter is a New York-based nonprofit bookstore and publisher specializing in artists' books. Like Parkett's Parkett Inserts program (75 artists over 25 years), Printed Matter focuses on artist-produced book objects and limited-edition publications, though its catalog is broader and institutional rather than tied to a single editorial lineage.
- Edition Schellmann: Edition Schellmann is a Munich-based publisher of limited-edition prints and multiples by major contemporary artists. Edition Schellmann shares Parkett's edition-driven half of the business model, producing editioned artworks from blue-chip artists, but operates without the companion scholarly publication.
- Frieze: Frieze operates a leading contemporary art magazine alongside international art fairs (Frieze London, Frieze New York, Frieze Seoul) and publishing. Frieze shares Parkett's positioning in contemporary art media serving collectors and institutions, but its scope is broader editorial coverage rather than artist-portrait-plus-edition co-creation.
- Steidl: Steidl is a Göttingen-based independent art and photography book publisher known for artist monographs and high production values. Steidl shares Parkett's ethos of artist-driven, premium-quality art book publishing, but does not pair publications with original editioned artworks in the Parkett model.
- Hatje Cantz: Hatje Cantz is a German art publisher with deep roots in contemporary art monographs, exhibition catalogs, and museum publications. Like Parkett, Hatje Cantz serves major museums and publishes artist-focused scholarly books, but operates without Parkett's signature artist-edition companion model.
- Karma Books: Karma is a New York-based independent publisher and art bookshop producing artist monographs, artist books, and editions. Karma shares Parkett's model of pairing high-quality artist-focused publications with original art editions and serving a collector audience.
- Taschen: Taschen is a Cologne-based publisher of high-quality illustrated art books, including monographs on contemporary artists, architecture, photography, and design. Like Parkett, Taschen produces premium coffee-table art books sold through museum stores and to collectors worldwide, but operates at significantly larger scale and does not pair its books with editioned artworks.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Parkett social profiles
Digital presenceParkett compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Parkett financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Parkett leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Parkett funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Parkett M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Parkett
What does Parkett do?
Parkett publishes dual-language (English/German) art books in direct collaboration with contemporary artists, with each volume featuring three to five scholarly texts by renowned authors and curators paired with a limited-edition artwork created by the collaborating artist. The company has produced 101 volumes (1984-2017) covering 270 artists from over 40 countries, and additionally offers a digital eBook catalog raisonné (A Time Capsule), special limited-edition publications, traveling museum exhibitions, and viewing room access in Zurich and New York.
Is Parkett a public or private company?
Parkett is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Parkett founded?
Parkett was founded in 1984. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Parkett based?
Parkett is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Parkett make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Book Sales are the primary driver. The others are limited Edition Artworks, special Book Titles and artist Inserts.
Who are Parkett's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aperture Foundation, Phaidon Press, Artforum, Printed Matter, Edition Schellmann, Frieze, Steidl, Hatje Cantz, Karma Books and Taschen.
Does Parkett have an API?
No public API is recorded for Parkett.
What industry is Parkett in?
Parkett's product category is Contemporary Art Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAAAF, Art, Photography & Illustrated Books Publishing. Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.