Platzmöbel [Place Furniture]
1993
Sculpture, 172 x 120.7 x 2.5 cm, 155 x 167 x 5 cm.
Materials: wood, steel, acrylic, formica
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BK006191).
Platzmöbel is one of Artschwager’s furniture-related wall pieces. He himself calls them paintings, because he associates them with the traditional genre of the still life. In fact the object is, at the same time, a painting, a sculpture and a piece of furniture. This confusion is enhanced by the false suggestion of material consistency. The illusion of weight, volume and mass is subverted by the use of ‘wood’, which reveals itself as formica and acrylic. The work may appear simple, but it is the result of an intense and complex working process, involving a whole series of drawings and sketches. Spatial concerns are a significant aspect of Artschwager’s work. To disorient the viewer he often places his pieces in the dead corners of a space.
