Franz West - New Now Evening Sale New York Monday, February 29, 2016 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private Collection, Mexico
    Gallery Matthias Arndt, Berlin
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Catalogue Essay

    "When I was fifteen I went to Rome, and because I was alone there I went to the Spanish Steps, where you could meet people....From that experience came this ideal of sitting in the art, like a goal of sitting in the clouds: sitting in the art consuming life." Franz West

    Born amidst the ruins of Post-war Vienna in 1947, Franz West’s work is both steeped in the figurative traditions of the European avant–garde, while also existing largely as a caricature of those practices. Often regarded as an anti-formalist and praised for his work’s accessibility, West’s aim was never to critique or protest that of his predecessors or his contemporaries. Rather, he sought to cultivate an additional dimension in the practice of making and exhibiting art, wherein the audience is activated, and their engagement with the work and the space surrounding it becomes art unto itself.

    West rose to notoriety in the 1970s with pieces that he called Passtücke or Adaptives—white sculptural objects formed of plaster, papier-mâché or other found media—that he continued to produce into the 1980s and would later elaborate and expand upon through the end of his life. West's intention with this body of work was that the viewer engage with, handle, the sculptures in order to fully experience their “ergonomic” nature. Pushing this concept to its furthermost conclusion, West began designing “everyday adaptives”, which, as opposed to discrete handle-able objects, took the form of common furniture – tables, lamps, chairs, etc. Divan (Prototype), 1997 speaks to a decidedly more engaging and immersive process and practice while further emphasizing the eccentricities that initially set it apart.

25

Divan (Prototype)

before 1997
steel, wood, foam and linen
40 7/8 x 85 x 35 in. (104 x 216 x 89 cm)
This work is a unique prototype.

Estimate
$70,000 - 100,000 

Sold for $75,000

Contact Specialist
Rebekah Bowling
Head of Sale
New York
+ 1 212 940 1250

New Now Evening Sale

New York Auction 29 February 2016 6pm