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6/5/2009

Franz West

Fondation Beyeler, Basel

The Fondation Beyeler is presenting works by Franz West (b. 1947) on the lower floor and in the museum park. West is a major protagonist on the international art scene. Based in Vienna, he has made a name for himself especially with three-dimensional conceptions (sculptures and installations). The presentation, on view in parallel with the "Giacometti" exhibition (May 31 – October 11, 2009), comprises 18 pieces from various series of West’s works, including new and rarely exhibited ones. Their common feature is the inclusion of the viewer, who is encouraged to "occupy" and use them.

A basic theme in West’s oeuvre is communication and interaction with and through art. His sculptures challenge audiences to abandon the static viewer’s position and actively use the objects, thereby making their own movements an integral part of the work. West’s sculptural work began in the 1970s with his Passstücke (Fitted Pieces), which he described as "body-extending meaning protheses." From 1987onwards he created a variety of chairs assembled from prefabricated parts or covered with textiles, alienated pieces with an ironic thrust that captured the attention of the art world. The works on display at the Fondation Beyeler likewise address the issue of the borderline between object of art and utilitarian object.

One of the most recent works in the presentation, Bratislava, 2009, consists of the artist’s familiar chaise longues covered with silver material, arranged around a large epoxy resin sphere. With Geneaology of the Ineffable, 1997, and Nulpen/Zerox, 2006, major examples of the famous Fitted Pieces are on view. From the "ear boxes" of the linen-covered Club Fauteuil, 2007, viewers hear music composed by Philipp Quehenberger. The forms of the large-scale sculptures Alpha and Omega, both 2008, correspond to the Greek letters of the titles. In the installation Red Light District, in turn, West employs illuminated lampshades to evoke an all-pervading red hue.

On view in the Fondation’s Berower Park will be the spectacular outdoor sculpture Schleife (Loop), 2009, one of three similarly configured seat sculptures. These relate to a diagram by Ludwig Wittgenstein, which he employed as an example of meaninglessness and a symbol of death. The work Sinnlos (Meaningless), 2008, which can be used as a wardrobe, likewise goes back to "Wittgenstein’s meaningless doodlings."

In the Fondation Beyeler winter garden, West’s table and polychrome Uncle Chairs, 2008, invite visitors to take a seat and leaf through exhibition literature.

The exhibition project was organized in collaboration with Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Gagosian Gallery, London, and the Generali Foundation Collection, Vienna.

For the Fondation Beyeler presentation, the artist has provided a text in the form of an exhibition tour:

1."eggs"
Eggs are a first attempt to get away from round forms; the title derives from the impossibility of translations. It is derived from the German "Ecke", but for me, the sound corresponds to the form, so "corners" would be a false sound and would miss the sense, which is the unity of the title and the sculpture.

2."red light district"
In a music cellar I sometimes go to there is red illumination, and in exactly this red, which mesmerized me during long sessions there. It is captured here.

3."nulpen/zerox"
These are "Passstücke" ("fitted pieces"), an old motif of mine, which I recapitulate less and less often; in this case, I was able to persuade actors from the Vienna Burgtheater to demonstrate them for a video. The first images of instructions for use of the fitted pieces were made with my brother, who was also an actor and who interpreted them as straightforwardly as he did vividly, acted with them. Afterwards, in connection with these "instruction videos," I often asked assistants or other people who happened to be around, and the results were usually a little bland. Please go ahead and use them anyway, even if you are afraid of not being able to manage an intepretation this good.

4."cool book"
This was first shown in the not very well frequented "Hamsterrad" ("hamster wheel") exhibition at the Venice Biennale (Jean-Marc Bustamante, Urs Fischer, Olivier Garbay, Gelitin, Douglas Gordon, Rachel Harrison, Sarah Lucas, Paola Pivi, Rudolf Polanszky, Ugo Rondinone, Una Szeemann, Tamuna Sirbiladze, Piotr Ulanski, Franz West, Toby Ziegler). A promised entrance to the exhibition space was not approved after all, so it was practically impossible to see the show.

5."rot/red"
I have a green painting by Dieter Roth at home that inspired me to do this sculpture.

6."rauch/smoke"
As I was working on this sculpture, I saw a show by Neo Rauch in Wolfsburg, and carried away an impression of tatters of paint, which I then applied to this sculpture.

7."old school"
I’ve had this for a good 20 years and occasionally exhibit it.

8."omega"
is a continuation of the quulz (actually qwertz) idea: a synonym for the next best thing, in this case when you run your finger across the upper left row of keys on the computer keyboard.

9."alpha"
is also an expanded qwertz (quulz).

10."meaningless"
is a reference to a meaningless doodling of Wittgenstein’s, which has intrigued me for 30 years (see the catalogue "Legitime Skulptur", Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, 1986).

11."bratislava"
is a companion piece to the arrangement "bryn" (brno), which can only be shown inside, whereas "bratislava" can just as well be shown and used outside.

12."geneology of the ineffable"
is a visual attempt at explaining the "Passstück" ("fitted piece"); whether or not it is successful is up to you to say.

13."club fauteuil (sound: philipp quehenberger)"
Temporarily audible here is music by Philipp Quehenberger, who will have a live performance in this room on June 12, the sounds of which will be transmitted to the chair.

14."loop"
is one of three similar seat sculptures that relate to a diagram by Wittgenstein, which he once used as an example of meaninglessness (which might be linked with Kant’s disinterestedness), and even once (I think in his writings on religion) as a synonym for death (especially transfigured into a sculpture, the loops are easily associated with a skeleton/ribcage [sic Hegel’s bones!]).


Image: Red Light District, 2006. Plexiglass, metal 124 x 80 cm each. Photo: Atelier Franz West © Franz West

Artists talk with Franz West and Hans Ulrich Obrist, on June 12, 2009, 8.00 p.m, in the "Nocturne" series at the Fondation Beyeler during Art Basel. Featuring a live performance by Philipp Quehenberger, whose sound enriches Franz West’s Club Fauteuil.

Further information, press matter, and invitations are available from
Catherine Schott, tel. + 41 (0)61 645 97 21, fax + 41 (0)61 645 97 39, presse@beyeler.com

Fondation Beyeler
Baselstrasse 77, CH-4125 Riehen, Switzerland
Opening hours of the Fondation Beyeler: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, Wednesdays until 8 p.m.

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