FRANZ WEST
1947-2012, AustriaFranz West, one of the key figures of the international art scene, was first influenced by the generation of Actionists and Performance artists of the sixties. His early sculptures, later called Adaptatives, made of wood and fragments of wire netting covered in papier mâché painted in white became the foundation of his practice. In the eighties, some of these sculptures, redeveloped on a large scale, would translate to outsized aluminium pieces or installations, exploring the relation to the body as well as to social issues. Franz West’s works went on to encompass the practices of painting and sculpture, as well as installations and monumental outdoor pieces. Rejecting the passive nature between objects and viewers, he continually intended to disconcert the viewers perception of an artwork.
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