Smith's book... considers the issue of what it means to curate "the contemporary". It draws on his broad knowledge and lengthy experience in the field to produce an account that is global in scope and that considers a remarkable range of exhibitions, institutions and practices. [It] tellingly describe[s] the increasingly professional, institutional, academic, theorized, and historically informed character of curating.

- Julian Stallabrass, Artforum

Concisely informative (for academic texts), [it offers]. at least for this reader, a long-needed overview of the professionals who-- even more than artists, dealers and collectors, and way more than critics-- run the art world today.

- Peter Plagens, Art in America

Art critics, art historians, the general public, and even artists don’t pay sufficient attention to the curatorial thought behind exhibitions. They tend to assume that it is the same kind of thinking that they do. Thinking Contemporary Curating tries to distinguish what is distinctive about how curators think and what they do, yet also identify what they share with other artworld actors.

- Orit Gat, Modern Painters