The focus of this publication is Franz West's (1947-2012) Kombi-Werke installations, in which greatly differing individual pieces are brought together and then recomposed into new works. Gathering elements such as fittings, furniture, sculpture, videos and works on paper from all periods--and even works made by artist friends--into grand ensembles, the Kombi-Werke are without doubt key elements in West's legacy. An example is the three-part papier-mache sculpture -Redundanz- its starting point is the gouache -Lost Weight- (1994), with its motif of a dieting woman showing her...

Emerging in the early 1970s, Austrian artist Franz West (1947-2012) created objects that serve to redefine art as a social experience, calling attention to how viewers interact with works of art and with each other. The 1990s proved critical in the development of the idiosyncratic style for which West is still known today. Key innovations from this period--which included the addition of exuberant color to his papier-mache forms, the incorporation of furniture both as art object and as social incubator, and the inclusion of work by other artists in his own installations--resulted in dynamic,...