![Franz West](https://img.artlogic.net/w_504,h_378,c_lfill/exhibit-e/5b6b5f6d6aa72c4f430fcc53/8765beaedf4ce0606fe2d870c87b6c3a.jpeg)
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Giacometti, Twombly, West: Sculptures of Existence
curated by Dieter Buchhart
May 3 - June 23, 2018
Opening: Thursday, May 3rd, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Venus Over Manhattan
980 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075
(New York, NY) – Venus is pleased to present Giacometti, Twombly, West: Sculptures of Existence, an exhibition curated by Dieter Buchhart which explores the shared tactile quality in the work of Franz West and his predecessors, Alberto Giacometti and Cy Twombly. The show, comprising over fifty works, will be on view from May 3rd through June 23rd, 2018.
Despite their biographical and geographical differences, the oeuvres of Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, and Franz West are bound by a similar rawness inherent to their materials. Harald Szeemann presented work by Giacometti, Twombly, and West in his 1985-1986 group exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich. The connection between these artists rests in their relationship to texture, form, and presence. Buchhart has assembled an expansive group of sculptures, wall works, and works on paper, that reflect similar approaches to materiality and expression
A large selection of works by Franz West, produced between 1976 and 2007, display the artist’s uniquely tactile approach to form. In reference to his installation for the Austrian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1990, the gallery walls are painted bright red, emphasizing the subtle changes in color and surface of the artist’s predominantly monochrome sculptures. Situated on pedestals around the gallery, a large group of West’s Adaptives (Paßstücke) represent the foundation of his practice. Begun around 1974, the Adaptives come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and variously resemble squiggles, shovels, sticks, clubs, plates, and body parts. The suggestive forms of West’s Adaptives laid the groundwork for his subsequent sculptural developments: works from his Name Work (Namensbild) and Object Work (Objektbild) series illustrate his dedication to the physical qualities of modest materials like plaster and papier-mâché. Later in his career he was able to achieve larger scales using the same materials, which he would often paint with splashes of bright, saturated colors. Also on view is a series of works on paper, produced between 1976 and 2005.
Alongside the works by Franz West are four impressive bronze figures by Alberto Giacometti. Nu debout sur socle cubique (1953), Petit monstre II (1953), Grande femme assise (Annette assise) (1958), and Homme à mi-corps (Diego Assis) (1964-1965), illustrate the iconic, modeled quality of Giacometti’s sculpture, demonstrating his approach to materiality. Also on view is a selection of works on paper by Cy Twombly, which use looping, gestural marks to create expressive compositions. West’s appreciation of Twombly is well documented – he produced a papier-mâché sculpture titled Twombly, in 1988 – and the spiral forms of his early Adaptives suggest Twombly’s lines in three dimensions. In his obituary for Franz West, Jerry Saltz linked the work of these three artists: “Using papier-mâché, plaster, wire, wood, straw, and who-knows-what, topped off with scads of white paint, West made medium-sized and portable sculptures that come out of the sketchy semi-dead-and-alive figures of Giacometti...Cy Twombly’s weird white anti-classical sculptures, and his own high disregard for high art pretensions.” Taken together, these artists’ works demonstrate a shared desire for rendering expression in physical form.
For further information about the exhibition and availability, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermanhattan.com
For all press inquiries related to the exhibition, please email press@venusovermanhattan.com
Alberto Giacometti
Nu debout sur socle cubique, 1953
patinated bronze
17 x 4 5/8 x 3 7/8 in
43.2 x 11.5 x 9.5 cm
Alberto Giacometti
Petit Monstre II, 1953
patinated bronze
4 x 1 1/2 x 1 3/8 in
10 x 3.6 x 3.3 cm
Alberto Giacometti
Grande femme assise (Annette assise), 1958
patinated bronze
31 11/16 x 8 1/6 x 12 1/8 in
80.5 x 20.5 x 30.8 cm
Alberto Giacometti
Homme à mi-corps (Diego assis), 1965
patinated bronze
23 1/4 x 7 3/8 x 11 1/4 in
59 x 18.7 x 28.3 cm
Cy Twombly
Untitled, 1959
pencil, colored pencil, ballpoint pen on two sheets of paper
each: 20 x 27 1/2 in
each: 50.8 x 69.9 cm
Cy Twombly
Untitled, 1959-1963
pencil, ink, crayon on paper
19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in
50 x 70 cm
Cy Twombly
Original Drawing for a Gallery Poster Exhibition at Galerie J., Paris, 1961
pencil on paper
11 1/2 x 10 in
29.2 x 25.4 cm
Cy Twombly
Untitled (Study for “Triumph of Love”), 1961
pencil and pastel on paper
8 7/8 x 12 in
22.3 x 30.5 cm
Cy Twombly
Poster Study for “Nine Discourses on Commodus by Cy Twombly at Leo Castelli Gallery,” 1964
colored pencil, graphite on paper
27 5/8 x 18 3/4 in
69.6 x 49.8 cm
Franz West
Untitled, 1973
mixed media on cardboard
24 1/8 x 36 1/4 in
69 x 92 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Objekt Rosa), c. 1974
papier-mâché, paint, varnish
16 5/8 x 13 1/2 x 1 7/8 in
42 x 34 x 4.5 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), 1974
wood, plaster, gauze
16 1/4 x 46 7/8 x 1 7/8 in
41 x 119 x 4.5 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), 1974
metal, plaster, paint
125 1/4 x 11 7/8 x 11 7/8 in
318 x 30 x 30 cm
Franz West
Namensbild “Sigrun,” 1974
wood, plaster, gauze, leather
29 5/8 x 20 1/2 x 2 3/8 in
75 x 52 x 6 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), 1974-1975
cardboard, plaster, wire, paint
12 5/8 x 19 3/4 x 11 7/8 in
32 x 50 x 30 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Namensbild Lasa), 1975
cardboard, plaster, paint, and wood
28 3/4 x 43 x 2 1/2 in
73 x 109 x 6 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), 1976
cardboard, metal, paint
17 3/4 x 29 3/8 x 3 5/8 in
45 x 74.5 x 9 cm
Franz West
Eitler Tand, 1976
collage and mixed media on paper, mounted on cardboard
24 7/8 x 35 1/2 in
63 x 90 cm
Franz West
Untitled, 1977
collage, mixed media on paper
24 7/8 x 35 1/2 in
63 x 90 cm
Franz West
Untitled, 1977
collage, mixed media on paper
25 x 35 1/2 in
63.5 x 90 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist), 1977
ink, corrective lacquers, red crayon on three book pages
8 3/8 x 15 1/4 in
21 x 38.5 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Röhrenpaßstück), 1980
acrylic, papier-mâché, metal
16 5/8 x 16 1/4 x 17 3/8 in
42 x 41 x 44 cm
Franz West
Maulschelle (Ohrenschläger), c. 1980
plaster, gauze, paint, colored lid
6 3/8 x 30 3/4 x 3 5/8 in
16 x 78 x 9 cm
Franz West
Ihr Geist aus der Flasche (früher: Namensbild Bigi), early 1980s
papier-mâché, metal, paint, wine bottle on pedestal
45 3/8 x 33 7/8 x 8 3/4 in
115 x 86 x 22 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Adaptive Pieces), 1981-1983
six vintage silver gelatin prints, paint, pen
28 x 39 3/8 in
71 x 100 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), 1982
plaster, cardboard, paint
12 1/4 x 22 1/8 x 2 5/8 in
31 x 56 x 6.5 cm
Franz West
Bei Pawlow, Siehe Marc, 1982
gouache, ballpoint pen on printed paper
10 1/8 x 7 7/8 in
25.7 x 20 cm
Franz West
Dell’ ambiguida, 1982
mixed media on magazine page
9 1/8 x 11 5/8 in
23.2 x 29.5 cm
Franz West
Salute Franz West (Moonlight), 1982
pencil, pen, felt-tip marker on paper
8 1/2 x 15 5/8 in
21.5 x 42 cm
Franz West
Untitled, 1982
iron, plaster
22 7/8 x 15 3/4 x 13 7/8 in
58 x 40 x 35 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), c. 1983
papier–mâché, plaster, paint (painted by Eugenia Rochas)
11 1/8 x 37 1/2 x 9 7/8 in
28 x 95 x 25 cm
Franz West
Refresher (Labstück), c. 1983
glass bottle, wood, plaster, acrylic (painted by Jenny Feldmann)
14 1/4 x 26 x 14 5/8 in
36 x 66 x 37 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), 1983-1984
plaster, gauze, wood, acrylic
11 1/8 x 38 5/8 x 22 1/2 in
28 x 98 x 57 cm
Franz West
Untitled, 1985
plaster, mixed media, paint
42 5/8 x 22 7/8 x 4 in
108 x 58 x 10 cm
Franz West
Untitled, 1985
iron, plaster, painted
8 3/4 x 24 1/8 x 4 in
22 x 61 x 10 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Tischskulptur), 1985
wood, metal, paint
14 1/4 x 32 3/4 x 23 5/8 in
36 x 83 x 60 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Labstück), c. 1985
glass bottle, plaster, gauze, wood, acrylic
9 1/2 x 16 1/4 x 3 5/8 in
24 x 41 x 9 cm
Franz West
Adaptive (Paßstück), n.d.
papier-mâché, plaster, paint
7 1/8 x 31 1/2 x 4 3/8 in
18 x 80 x 11 cm
Franz West
Selbiges, 1986
mixed media, photographs, paper collage on cardboard
15 5/8 x 16 1/4 x 1 5/8 in
39.5 x 41 x 4 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Fauteuil), 1988
aluminum, varnish
39 3/8 x 35 1/2 x 29 5/8 in
100 x 90 x 75 cm
Franz West
Oki allein, 1990
gelatin silver print
11 7/8 x 15 3/4
30 x 40 cm
Franz West
Grüze aus dem Leib, 1992
collage, mixed media on paper
11 1/8 x 16 5/8 in
28 x 42 cm
Franz West
Selbsportrait als Johann Fenzel, 2002
collage, oil on paper
55 5/8 x 39 5/8 in
141 x 101 cm
Franz West
Untitled (Collage), 2002
acrylic, plaster in artist’s frame
29 5/8 x 25 5/8 in
75 x 65 cm
Franz West
Haus-oder Gästeschurz (Anwendung nur im privaten Bereich), 2004
spray enamel on metal
32 3/8 x 34 1/2 x 21 3/4 in
82 x 87.6 x 55 cm
Franz West
Der Ficker, 2005
offset print on paper
48 1/4 x 35 1/8 in
122.5 x 89 cm
Franz West
Treffpunkt, Model Vitrine 1, 2006
plaster, paper, plexiglas, acrylic
20 7/8 x 14 5/8 x 15 in
53 x 37 x 38 cm
Franz West
Untitled, 2007
papier–mâché, paint, metal
59 x 51 x 37 3/8 in
149.8 x 129.9 x 94.9 cm