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Franz West

Passstücke

March 18–April 26, 2008
980 Madison Avenue, New York

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Works Exhibited

Franz West, Poster Design (Gagosian Gallery), 2007–08 Collage and paint on digital print, mounted on canvas, 67 ½ × 74-13/16 inches (171.5 × 190 cm)

Franz West, Poster Design (Gagosian Gallery), 2007–08

Collage and paint on digital print, mounted on canvas, 67 ½ × 74-13/16 inches (171.5 × 190 cm)

Franz West, Poster Design (Gagosian Gallery), 2008 Collage on paper, mounted on canvas, 79 ⅛ × 75 3/16 inches (201 × 191 cm)

Franz West, Poster Design (Gagosian Gallery), 2008

Collage on paper, mounted on canvas, 79 ⅛ × 75 3/16 inches (201 × 191 cm)

Franz West, Untitled, 2008 Collage on paper, mounted on foam cardboard, 45 5/16 × 63-13/16 inches (115 × 162 cm)

Franz West, Untitled, 2008

Collage on paper, mounted on foam cardboard, 45 5/16 × 63-13/16 inches (115 × 162 cm)

Franz West, Paßtück, c. 1980 Polyester, gauze, plaster, dispersion, Approximately 12 × 24-13/16 × 7 ⅛ inches (30.5 × 63 × 18 cm)

Franz West, Paßtück, c. 1980

Polyester, gauze, plaster, dispersion, Approximately 12 × 24-13/16 × 7 ⅛ inches (30.5 × 63 × 18 cm)

Franz West, Paßstück, c. 1980 Cardboard roll, metal, scotch tape, paper, glue, fabric and dispersion paint, 17-11/16 × 17-11/16 × 11 ⅝ inches (45 × 45 × 29.5 cm)

Franz West, Paßstück, c. 1980

Cardboard roll, metal, scotch tape, paper, glue, fabric and dispersion paint, 17-11/16 × 17-11/16 × 11 ⅝ inches (45 × 45 × 29.5 cm)

Franz West, Paßstück, c. 1980 Polyester, gauze, plaster and dispersion, 47 3/16 × 27 ⅝ × 12 ⅝ inches (120 × 70 × 32 cm)

Franz West, Paßstück, c. 1980

Polyester, gauze, plaster and dispersion, 47 3/16 × 27 ⅝ × 12 ⅝ inches (120 × 70 × 32 cm)

Franz West, Untitled, 2007 Papier-mâché, styrofoam, epoxy resin, lacquer, metal, 114 3/16 × 39 ⅜ × 39 ⅜ inches (290 × 100 × 100 cm)

Franz West, Untitled, 2007

Papier-mâché, styrofoam, epoxy resin, lacquer, metal, 114 3/16 × 39 ⅜ × 39 ⅜ inches (290 × 100 × 100 cm)

Franz West, NYCNAC, 2001/08 (view 1) 6 paßstücke: Epoxydharz; Screen: wood, paper, paint; Video, Each paßstücke: 39 ⅜ × 7 ⅞ × 9-13/16 inches (100 × 20 × 25 cm); 4 screen wings, each: 94 ½ (H) × 63 inches 240 (H) × 160 cm

Franz West, NYCNAC, 2001/08 (view 1)

6 paßstücke: Epoxydharz; Screen: wood, paper, paint; Video, Each paßstücke: 39 ⅜ × 7 ⅞ × 9-13/16 inches (100 × 20 × 25 cm); 4 screen wings, each: 94 ½ (H) × 63 inches 240 (H) × 160 cm

Franz West, NYCNAC, 2001/08 (view 2) 6 paßstücke: Epoxydharz; Screen: wood, paper, paint; Video, Each paßstücke: 39 ⅜ × 7 ⅞ × 9-13/16 inches (100 × 20 × 25 cm); 4 screen wings, each: 94 ½ (H) × 63 inches 240 (H) × 160 cm

Franz West, NYCNAC, 2001/08 (view 2)

6 paßstücke: Epoxydharz; Screen: wood, paper, paint; Video, Each paßstücke: 39 ⅜ × 7 ⅞ × 9-13/16 inches (100 × 20 × 25 cm); 4 screen wings, each: 94 ½ (H) × 63 inches 240 (H) × 160 cm

Franz West, NYCNAC, 2001/2008 6 epoxy resin Passstuecke with wood, paper, and paint cabin, in 4 panels; each Passstuecke: 39 ⅜ × 7 ⅞ × 9 ⅞ inches (100 × 20 × 25 cm); each panel, height: 94 ½ inches (240 cm), width: 63 inches (160 cm)© Archiv Franz West

Franz West, NYCNAC, 2001/2008

6 epoxy resin Passstuecke with wood, paper, and paint cabin, in 4 panels; each Passstuecke: 39 ⅜ × 7 ⅞ × 9 ⅞ inches (100 × 20 × 25 cm); each panel, height: 94 ½ inches (240 cm), width: 63 inches (160 cm)
© Archiv Franz West

About

Gagosian is pleased to announce an exhibition by Franz West.

The exhibition includes sculptures and works on paper from the early 1980s to more recent works related to the central motif of the Passstücke in West’s art.

In the early 1970s Franz West began making small-scale assemblages incorporating found materials such as cardboard, bandages, and wire, which he then covered with a coat of plaster and white paint. He called these sculptures Passstücke. West maintained that the viewer must engage with, handle, the sculptures in order to fully experience their “ergonomic” nature. Subsequently Passstücke has been translated as “adaptive” but this does not fully capture its original source as a technical term meaning “parts that fit into each other.” These early sculptures function as prosthetics for an intimate version of the extreme Actionist spectacles of the mid-seventies in Vienna.

Zdenek Felix said: “West’s adaptives are situated somewhere between the poles of body and psyche. Through use by the public, they could definitely become objects for behavioral research. This would comply with the intentions of the artist who is much more interested in the handling of his ‘objects’ than their formal completion.”

The exhibition brings together a collection of rare and previously unexhibited Passstücke and collages from the early 1980s. Alongside these historical works is NYC-NAC (2000–08), a Passstücke installation that allows several viewers at a time to participate, new collages and posters, and a recent body of work that West refers to as “inside/outside sculptures” made from traditional papier-maché, then coated in fiberglass so that they can also be placed outdoors.