FRANZ WEST | Kawasaki

The Artist
Bernier/Eliades, Athens (consigned by the above)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007

Athens, Bernier/Eliades, The Allotted Time has been Squandered Unused, April - June 2007

Jean Bernier, Bernier/Eliades Gallery, 1999-2009, Athens 2010, pp. 201-02, illustrated in colour 

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although they are slightly softer, the yellow is less green, and there is less overall contrast in the original. Furthermore, the unpainted passages of papier-mâché are less grey, and warmer in the original. Condition: This work is in very good and original condition. There are a few scuffs and irregularities to the white base which are in keeping with the artist's intentions. There are a few drying cracks in places most notably towards the areas where the paint is thickest. These appear to be stable. There are a number of protruding elements which are in keeping with the artist's intentions and working process. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra violet light.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In Franz West’s Kawasaki, an oval papier maché sculpture rests on top of a plain white platform, its uneven form and rugged texture conjuring an illusion of rock-like heaviness. Executed in 2004, the present work follows the crucial decade of the 1990s, in which West consolidated his style and first exhibited around the globe. With its biomorphic form and layers of clashing colours, Kawasaki exemplifies the artist’s decades-long experimentation and refinement of sculpture. Coming of age in the era of punk, radicalism and artistic revolution, West was a Renaissance Man who drew from both contemporary and classical culture. Equally at home in discussing medieval animism as he was in debating theories of Dostoevsky and Wittgenstein, West demonstrated a thirst for knowledge that went beyond the cultural trends of his era. His insatiable yearning for new ideas is reflected in the diversity of his practice, which covers mediums ranging from drawing to sculpture, from collage to performance. In appropriating a variety of oriental carpets, African fabrics and Op-Art mechanisms, the artist sought to construct a truly international corpus that reflects a global perspective.

Instead of viewing artistic creation solely as the expression of his individual character, West credited the external world as his main source of influence: “I don’t construct things from out of the void and place them into the world. I face the world and I respond to its demands the best I can. That’s the way I work – not constructive but responsive” (Franz West cited in: Exh. Cat., New York, David Zwirner, Franz West: the 1990s, 2014, p. 9). This notion of response could be seen both through his wide-ranging collaborations as well as his awareness of the audience’s role in the display of his work, often installing blanketed sedans and benches alongside his sculptures. Early in his career, during the 1970s, West forged a critical standing with his Adaptives sculptures: white, biomorphic objects that viewers could pick up and use however they liked. Created over thirty years later, Kawasaki combines West’s astute scholarship and openness to interpretation to form a striking work of intellectual depth. Its title, denoting both a city and motorcycle brand, inextricably binds the work to the culture of Japan. Yet within this framework, the viewer is free to make up their own interpretation of the sculpture’s meaning.

With its asymmetric shape and muted palette, Kawasaki resembles a moss-covered rock glittering under the soft morning sunlight, evoking the meticulously arranged geological formations that decorate traditional Japanese gardens and palace grounds. Appearing as if it has weathered the endless passage of time, the sculpture exudes a zen-like aura of serenity and invites the viewer to meditate on its understated beauty. Supported only by a small connection to its base, Kawasaki seems to hover in mid-air akin to the mirage-like landscapes of Edo-period woodblock prints, famously named ‘images of the floating world’.

Through a long and renowned career, that culminated in winning the lifetime achievement award at the 2011 Venice Biennale, West dazzled audiences worldwide with his striking conceptual work. With recent retrospective exhibitions at the Hepworth Museum, Wakefield (2014) and Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2018), as well as the upcoming Tate Modern show, London (2019), it is evident that West’s practice exerts a continuing influence on contemporary artistic developments. Like the epitaphs erected in commemoration of famous historical figures, the monumental Kawasaki stands as tribute and testimony to West’s illustrious legacy.