Beschreibung:

Peter Fischli and David Weiss Cactus 1987 Cast black rubber. 16 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (41.9 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm).
Provenance Acquired directly from the artist; Sonnabend Gallery, New York; Collection Arthur and Carol Goldberg, New York; Private collection, USA Exhibited Milan, Galleria Le Case d’Arte, 1987 (another example exhibited); Donaueschingen. Fürstenberg Sammlungen, ahead of the 21st century-- The Pisces Collection, June, 2002 – October, 2004 (another example exhibited) Literature P. Frey and Portikus, eds., Peter Fischli / David Weiss Frankfurt am Main, 1988 (artist’s sketch of the work illustrated as frontspiece); Centre Georges Pompidou, ed., Peter Fischli David Weiss Galeries contemporaines, Paris, 1992, p. 68 (illustrated); U. Grosenick, ed., ahead of the 21st century-- The Pisces Collection, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2002, no. 35, p. 59 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay “Peter Fishcli/David Weiss’s replicants refuse to give us any insight into their inner nature and structure, which we, as products of a scientific age, automatically want to investigate. Instead, we are radically confronted with a surface that cannot be penetrated because it conceals nothing but a void.” (B. Groys, Parkett, No. 40/41, 1994). With their blank utilitarian surfaces, only vaguely resembling the objects named in their titles, the artists’ long-time collaborative project of industrial synthetic rubber casts might recall the Claes Oldenburg ‘soft’ sculptures of the 1960’s, but they push a certain envelope of establishment mockery a bit further. The harsh reality of their medium belies their childish form; the chemical processes and heat involved in the production of these objects is far removed from the Fimo dough—home-oven baked acrylic polymer clay—they also undeniably resemble. This is in keeping with the ‘soft’ sculptures, which, although cartoonish in appearance, represented small miracles of skilled seamstressing. It would seem that Oldenburg would approve, then, of the critical reception afforded works like the present lot, asking us as they do “…to contest the claim to truth, to contest the absolutism of the art process,” finally “repudiating cleverness and replacing it with inept intentions.” (ibid). Read More