Courageous, free, humorous, touching and disturbing: these works by fifty international artists show how eccentric means more than neurotic or decadent.

Eccentricity resists all kinds of ideology, and indeed it can be an engine of social freedom and tolerance.

Through approximately one hundred pieces - including painting, sculpture, installation art, video and design - diversity is celebrated in ways that defy rigid norms and clichés.

Inspiring, thoughtful and quick-witted, the short texts in this book introduce us to some of the most brilliant eccentrics of the art world.

The overall impression is just as dazzling as it is multifaceted and shows the full scope of work that is "eccentric" (from ex centro, outside the middle) through experiments with materials or free-spirited approaches to themes such as identity, body, environment and humanity.

Richly illustrated and beautifully designed, this magazine-like catalogue is a feast for the eyes and will awaken curiosity about the eccentric in all of us.