franz west 1947 2012

franz west © markus rössle image courtesy of franz west

austrian sculptor franz west has passed away after a long illness at the age of 65. west began his career in mid-1960s vienna when actionism was in full swing. working across a range of mediums from performance and video, drawings to collages, furniture to bricolage installations, he is most well-known for his monumental sculptural snake-like works formed by a 3D patchwork of materials. expressing the aesthetic of papier-mâché often executed in bold, vibrant colors of blues, greens, pinks, yellows and oranges, the larger than life art pieces often appear a bit awkward, suggestive of intestines or appendages, but always humourous in presence.

in 2011 franz west awarded the golden lion at the venice art biennale, and more recently presented his largest outdoor installation at art basel 2012 which sold on the first day of the fair for a seven-figure sum (see designboom’s coverage of ‘gekröse’ here).

read more at the new york times.

franz west ‘gekröse’, 2011 at art basel 2012 image © designboom see designboom’s coverage of ‘gekröse’ at art basel 2012

franz west untitled, 2009 at jardin des tuileries, FIAC 2010 image via

franz west ‘extroversion’ by at venice art biennale 2011 image © designboom see designboom’s coverage of franz west at the 2011 venice art biennale

franz west ‘extroversion’ by at venice art biennale 2011, detail image © designboom