Untitled

Description

Artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss meticulously hand carved and painted polyurethane foam to resemble ordinary two-by-fours like one might find in an artist’s studio. Through this labor-intensive process, they mimicked the textures and imperfections of real wood with hyperrealistic precision. The resulting “functionless” work pays tribute to the readymade, a found object that is transformed into art simply by being presented as such. Untitled invites us to consider not only what things are but also how they come to be—and how meaning emerges in the act of making.

Provenance

The artists. Sold through Marianne Boesky, New York, to private collection, New York, 2000 [this and the following from email from Zwirner Gallery; Feb. 26, 2025; copy in curatorial object file]; sold through Zwirner Gallery, New York, to private collection, New York, 2000; Sold Philips, New York, Nov. 15, 2017, lot 344, to Jacob King, New York; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 8, 2025.

Untitled

Fischli & Weiss

1993-94

Accession Number

179774

Medium

Painted polyurethane

Dimensions

Installation dimensions variable

Classification

sculpture

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Jacob King in honor of Joel Wachs