Franz West
Tate Modern, London, UK
20 February – 2 June 2019
Tate Modern is currently hosting a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Franz West, which we, The Art Berries, visited recently. I’m excited to share with you not only our photographs from the show, but also my impressions of an artist whose practice continues to unsettle, amuse, and invite participation in equal measure.
I previously wrote on this blog about West’s exhibition at the Gagosian gallery on Davies Street last summer. As I mentioned then, West’s unconventional sculptures seek direct engagement from the audience—objects that ask to be touched, held, and even activated through performance. His work embodies the kind of artistic generosity and irreverence that we deeply admire: art that refuses to remain distant. (If you’re curious, you can revisit these thoughts in my post “The struggle in all artistic pursuits.”)
The exhibition opens with the iconic Passstücke or Adaptives: plaster sculptures embedded with found objects, designed to be handled and played with, just as he once did with his friends—something you can see in the nearby videos. Naturally, I took the chance. In the photos below, you’ll see me dressed in black, experimenting with these white, amorphous forms inside what feel like imaginary fitting rooms, complete with curtains if you want a bit of privacy. I didn’t feel the need to hide, though; West’s work has a way of stripping away self-consciousness.
Further into the exhibition we encounter his so-called “Legitimate Sculptures”: papier-mâché conglomerates built around everyday objects like hats, brooms, or pieces of wood. Some areas are painted while others remain raw; to me, they evoke bodies without ever becoming figurative. Their awkward physicality is part of their charm. West extends this logic to furniture, too—carpet-covered settees that invite visitors to sit and converse, blurring the boundary between artwork and social space.
In his final years, West turned to large-scale public sculpture: brightly coloured, exuberant forms that inhabit plazas and museum forecourts, including the spaces outside Tate Modern. Even when monumental, his sense of play remains unmistakable.
I’ve always admired Franz West’s irreverent and playful approach to art, and Tate Modern’s exhibition makes clear just how pivotal his work has been in rethinking the relationship between art and its audience. His sculptures invite participation rather than passive observation—a shift that still feels refreshing today—and I often wish more artists would follow his example. See us interacting with the artworks in the photos below.
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