Franz West Reviewed in Flash Art

“Franz West” is a clean shard of a retrospective, smartly limiting itself to a single decade, the 1990s, of the late Austrian artist’s diverse career. 
 
The iconoclast, who died in 2012, left behind a mess of designed objects, artworks, styles, cross-pollination with his peers, and treasured wares, all arranged here, material affirmation of a lifetime of pursuing the path drawn by his promiscuous inquisitiveness, deadpan humor, and prodding of societal rites and etiquette. A massive constellation, heavy in visual volume — oversized papier-mâché or aluminum forms on iron pedestals ["Untitled (10 Sculptures)", 1990–1997; "Lemurenköpfe", 1992]; large wooden cupboards, rather empty inside ["Dortmund und Gmünd (Die Visualisierte Rhythmik)", 1993/1999]; deep sofas draped in rich textiles, held up on pencil-thin iron frames ("Untitled", 1993) — rests lightly in pristine white rooms, spacious enough to take up the greater part of a city block in Chelsea. Scattered videos playing on small screens feature friends Kasper König, Mike Kelley and Joseph Kosuth, among many others. Invitations to use certain pieces on display — one can sit on "Divan", 2003, or “make an ergonomic gesture” with a "Paßstück (Adaptive)" from 1996, the accompanying "Video with Usage Tips" handily playing next to it — all impart the warmth and intimacy of a visit to an old friend’s home. 

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