Franz West.

WHITECHAPEL ART GALLERY

Ironic yet subversive to the core, Franz West has become the most prominent Austrian artist of the generation to emerge in the wake of Viennese Actionism. Perhaps best known for his so-called Passstucke--which the artist describes as neuroses made material as sculptural tools that the audience is invited to handle, wear, etc.--he also produces work as various as furniture, collages, and large metallic sculptures. Examples of all of these genres, plus West's collaborations with other artists, will be on display in this retrospective, which includes some thirty pieces from 1973 to the present. Organized by the Whitechapel's Anthony Spira, the show is accompanied by a catalogue with essays by, among others, Nicolas Bourriaud and Robert Storr. Sept. 9-Nov. 9.