The project aims to explore the parallels in thought and aesthetic strategies between Paolini’s work, especially of the 1960s and the '70s, and the work of this younger generation of artists based in New York today. The main categories of investigation are: the relationship between the artist, the work, and the spectator; the phenomenon of vision; the becoming of art and the particular work of art; the moment of exhibition; the persona of the artist and the enigma of artistic creation. The project seeks to highlight Paolini's visionary status in this historical lineage as well as the various ways in which the practices under consideration have evolved and taken on additional layers with advancements in technology since Paolini’s first forays into these areas of investigation in the 1960s.

The publication, also titled "Hypothesis for an Exhibition," includes a selection of excerpts from the writings of Giulio Paolini, as well as new texts by Germano Celant, Seth Price, Begum Yasar, Antek Walczak, Sebastian Black, Kerstin Brätsch, Boško Blagojević, and Kari Rittenbach.