Tate Modern’s latest exhibition highlights how the artist became an important figure in European art. Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews.
City Am: “It’s great fun from start to finish, painting a vivid picture of West’s singular mind and wicked sense of humour.”
The Upcoming: **** “While it is often cheeky and playful, West’s work is also deeply concerned with philosophical and psychological theories, drawing particularly on Viennese thinkers such as Freud. Although his work is powerful on a surface level, for those interested in delving deeper, the final room contains a shelf of West’s favourite philosophical books, which are available for perusing at length. This thoughtful exhibition is likely to be a hit with philosophers and fun-lovers alike.”
The Times: *** “It can be difficult to link the ideas behind the work of this Austrian artist who wanted to challenge notions of taste, but persevere and you will have fun.”
The Guardian: **** “This show is filled with jokes, visual slapstick, alarming twists and absurd confrontations.”
Time Out: **** “Franz West seems like he was a lot of fun. A drunken imbecile with a million brilliant ideas. It’s all booze and papier-mâché and philosophy, and this show does a great job of dropping you into his life. You emerge into the daylight, bleary-eyed and heavy-headed, but knowing you just had the time of your life.”
Culture Whisper: **** “his art is fun and surprising. And this exhibition does it justice.”
Evening Standard: **** “Whether in sculpture, furniture, videos or drawings, West disarms the paraphernalia around art, often with ribald humour. Yet he never appears flippant; as those bonkers outdoor sculptures testify, he was a master of serious play.”
The Tate Modern’s exhibition of Franz West‘s work is on display until the 2nd June 2019.