Franz West - Contemporary Art Evening Sale London Friday, October 16, 2009 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt

  • Exhibited

    Anvers, Openluchtmuseum voor Beeldhouwkunst Middelheim, Franz West, 6 June - 16 August, 1998; Kunstverein Braunschweig, Franz West Sammlung,: Ich sammle Mich, 23 June - 19 August, 2001

  • Literature

    Exhibition catalogue, Openluchtmuseum voor Beeldhouwkunst Middelheim, Franz West, Anvers, 1998, pp. 16, 37-38 (illustrated); Exhibition catalogue, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Franz West Sammlung,: Ich sammle Mich, Braunschweig, 2001, pp. 16-19 (illustrated)

  • Catalogue Essay

    In the early 1970s, the young Austrian artist Franz West began to make small assemblage sculptures incorporating papier-mâché, plaster, polyester and bandage material that was wrapped around wire frames which he titled Paßstück, literally translating to 'adaptive.' West's intention with this body of work was, and still is today, that the viewer engage with, handle, the sculptures in order to fully experience their 'ergonomic' nature. In a humorous dig at the sacrilegious and violent Viennese Actionists, the early 'adapitves' from the 70s were part of performance works where the participants carried the sculptures as prosthetics in various poses, standing calmly, slightly bent or striding ahead. 
    'West's Adaptives almost work exploitations of the body, like superfluous organs; and therefore, they also have an element of the grotesque and the clown-like. Because of serious, conceptual artistic processes, West has an effect, like someone mimicking another person's gestures behind his back and making them look ridiciulous. Even the materials that he uses do not correspond to the canon of seriousness. The papier-mâché that West still regularly uses for sculptures is a provisional material that is applied not for durability, but for quick completion and spontaneous use.' (L. Seyfarth, Grotesque Doubles: Adaptives and 'Ealan's Desire' by Franz West, in exhibition catalogue, Kunsthaus Bregenz, We'll not carry coals, Cologne, 2003, p. 33)  

40

Platform (2 Paßstücke)

1998
Acrylic, plaster, papier-mâché and gauze in two parts, 2 wooden plinths, 1 wooden base.
Paßstücke: 15 x 51 x 19 cm. (6 x 20 x 7 1/2 in). & 42 x 34 x 22 cm. (16 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 8 1/2 in).; base: 200 x 300 cm. (78 3/4 x 118 in).

Estimate
£60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

17 Oct 2009
London