Franz West - Contemporary Art Part II New York Tuesday, November 9, 2010 | Phillips

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  • Provenance


    Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich

  • Catalogue Essay


    Wollen sie diesem Exemplar 9/10 seinen sinn geben, so setzen sie sich nackt auf den stuhl (If you want to make sense out of the work, sit in the chair naked). Franz West, 1996
    “Nackt” means “naked,” but West titled these chairs “Naktstuhl,” which translates as “move” stool or chair, since the work is activated by a participant removing his/her clothes and sitting naked on the chair. The participant is not merely a substitute for the artist; he/she becomes the artist by activating the work of art.
    “Naktstuhl” represents an important intersection between West’s Passstücke (adaptives), which first appeared in the mid-1970s and his more conventional furniture sculptures that followed. The work captures both the sculptural and performative elements of West’s oeuvre. This example accentuates the sculptural element, rendered in West’s most basic materials – metal, Masonite, plaster and paint – anticipating his later chairs that were upholstered with African prints.
    As The New York Times critic Ken Johnson wrote, “Mr. West’s art and furniture ostensibly assert a democratic spirit. The ‘de-skilled’ look of both conveys the idea that anyone can be an artist. And by conflating furniture and art, he conjures the fantasy of a holistic world of creative, all-embracing sociability.”

313

Naktstuhl

1996

Metal and wood chair, partially overworked with plaster and dispersion on Masonite, on painted platform.

Chair: 33 x 18 x 18 in. (83.8 x 45.7 x 45.7 cm); platform: 3 1/2 x 30 x 44 in.(8.9 x 76.2 x 111.8 cm).

This work is from an edition of ten and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Estimate
$6,000 - 8,000 

Sold for $16,250

Contemporary Art Part II

9 November 2010
New York