Franz West - Passstück

Franz West

Passstück
1988

Paper maché, plastic and metal, partly polychrome painted. Approx. 34 x 50 x 33 cm. - Traces of studio and minor traces of age.

"[…] In logical consequence, this led West - after he had already created individual works in the first half of the 1980s that were no longer necessarily intended for use - from 1985 onwards to explore the artistic potential of autonomous sculpture. Abstract formations now arise from the same materials as his so-called ‘fitting pieces’, namely papier-mâché, polyester, and plaster, or a mixture of these substances, into which – as with the ‘fitting pieces’ – various 'junk' is incorporated as supportive structures. While West initially designed their surfaces in monochrome, they are later painted by him or by other artists. Presented on pedestals as floor sculptures or as wall reliefs, these works are to be understood as autonomous sculptures. While the concept of the ‘fitting pieces’ and furniture foresees modelling physical, psychic, and mental perception and experience also through bodily experiences - which are inherent in the process of use - these objects are conceived as impulses and vehicles for processes that are no longer directly bound to bodily experiences. With these works, West now examines the psychic and mental processes triggered by the reception of artworks. In this context, he also circles around the question of the function and legitimacy of the autonomous artwork”. (Eva Badura-Triska, Skulpturen, Installationen und Environments 1985-1995, in: Franz West Proforma, exhib.cat. Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, et al., Kassel 1995, p.191/192.)

Certificate

The present artwork is registered in Archiv Franz West, Vienna.

Provenance

Galerie Peter Pakesch, Wien; Koury Wingate Gallery, New York; David Zwirner, New York (1998) (registration number on invoice); private collection, Belgium