Giacometti, Twombly, West

Sculptures of Existence

Curated by Dieter Buchhart

May 3 – June 9, 2018

Installation view of Sculptures of Existence: Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Franz West, curated by Dieter Buchhart, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018

Press Release

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

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Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails

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