WEST, Franz; PAKESCH, Peter
Franz West. Die frühen Werke / Early Works

A catalogue of, well, “early” works by Franz West – mostly collages and works on paper, objects and papier-mâché sculptures from 1973 to 1992 – early, but great! They are accompanied by a conversation between Hans-Ulrich Obrist and Peter Pakesch, who was the artist’s gallerist. 

As the Tate website recalls it: “In the late 1960s West began making art, though for many years he was not taken very seriously. He spent days and nights in Viennese coffee houses and bars drinking heavily and experimenting with drugs. He got arrested twice and was regarded as an outsider. … West’s early works were informed by Viennese nightlife, mass media, and the different art movements in the city. The ornamental style of the German art movement Jugendstil fascinated him. He was more ambivalent about the Viennese Actionists, a group of slightly older artists whose performances were deliberately scandalous. As his collages here show, he took a different approach – less obviously shocking, but humorous and provocative.”

This book was published following a show at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, that presented works by Franz West held in private collections, including Pakesch’s. 

Published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2025
Design by Dorothea Brunialti
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