Brutalist Chain Floor Lamp attributed to Franz West, 1980s

Very heavy brutalist floor lamp in very good condition. Made from rustic iron chain which is welded together and is lacquered in a matte black color. This lamp is attributed to the Austrian Artist Franz West. “Widely regarded as the preeminent European artist of his generation, Franz West (Austria, 1947-2012) is known for his willfully unserious, non-ideological and sometimes mischievous drawings, sculptures and furniture. Replete with contradictions, West’s work is often joyful, silly, erotic while being tinged with vulnerability and an undercurrent of existential nihilism. It concerns itself with both deep philosophical pursuits and the basest of human desires: laziness, drunkenness and sexual desire.” Many of West’s sculptures appear as furniture but furniture is really a backdrop for West’s ideas about culture, materialism and objects place in the world of man or man’s place in the world of objects. West intended his sculptures/furniture “to appear to have practical function” but in reality he is adopting the world and bringing it into the realm of art. His chain link sculptures/ floor lamps are engaging, thought provoking excursions into the modern Industrial / post Industrial/ pre-digital age that illuminate human progress and/or the lack thereof.