Doku-Chair (1997–2003) is a prime example of Franz West’s iconic engagement with utilitarian objects. Though West had experimented with paintings, he was best known for his sculptures and quirky furniture, which could be seamlessly utilized within everyday life. West’s playful manipulation of commonplace objects attempted to redefine art as a social experience, changing the relationship between the viewer and the artwork.

Doku-Chair was a series created for documenta X, the tenth edition of the contemporary art exhibition that takes place in Kassel, Germany, every five years. The Doku-Chair series was presented as part of a 1997 exhibition by Heimo Zobernig titled 100 Days – 100 Guests. West’s chairs were utilized in a functional way by the various filmmakers, writers, and artists from across the world attending documenta X.

“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. It’s perhaps a bit hippyish: not to participate in society but to have this art as life.”
—Franz West ⁱ

West originally developed the chair design from his own 1994 prototype and upholstered it with colorful African fabric. The chairs were purposefully constructed to highlight the contrast between the non-Western focus of the program, whereas only a fifth of the 100 participants were from non-western countries. The guests were a mix of intellectuals and cultural figures who had been invited to share their views on globalization, which included artists of the exhibition, filmmakers, theatre professionals, architects, writers, philosophers, critics, sociologists, political scientists and economists, etc.

Image: © documenta archiv / Foto: Dieter Schwerdtle

West utilized his Doku-Chair to create a critical observation of documenta X and the firm grasp that the wealthy Western society has on influencing the direction of global art and culture. The present lot is exemplary to West’s use of his own art for making socially conscious critiques, though Doku-Chair is also among notable works in the artist’s oeuvre due to a unique setting in which it was commissioned.

ⁱhttps://artreview.com/archive-octobe-2012-franz-west-other-people-and-their-ideas-no1-copy/
- Provenance
  Private Collection
  Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2002
- Exhibited
  Kassel, documenta X, 100 days - 100 Guests , June 21–September 28, 1997
- Literature
  "100 Days - 100 Guests: A main program of documenta X, 1997," Universes in Universe, 1997, online (another example illustrated)