Andre Viana presents an exhibition by Austrian-born artist Franz West (1947-2012). This show includes his renowned Uncle Chairs along with a selection of indoor and outdoor sculptures produced during the early 2000s.

Influenced by the Vienna Actionists in the early 1970’S, West created a series of small portable sculptures called Adaptives. These objects were only completed as artworks when the viewer picked them up to wear them or to carry them around, which reveals his early interest in action/reaction. Later on, West approached sculpture by incorporating a wide variety of media. In the 1990S, he turned to painted papier-mache and plaster, and eventually adjusted to weatherproof materials like varnished aluminum and steel when embracing a larger scale.

A number of monumental pieces on varnished aluminum are on view, alongside sculptures such as Lemure, which  aim to engage the viewer in a more intimate and tactile encounter. Just like his furniture, West’s sculptures stretch visual expectation of firmness and solidity, yet they fulfill their functional role beyond the purely decorative or aesthetic. They transform galleries and public spaces into environments that invite the viewer to interact with the work spatially and creatively.