Mixed Media, Cardboard, Plywood, Metal, Synthetic Polymer Paint, Ink, Thermal Adhesive, and Found/Fabricated Objects
10.5 х 10.5 х 2.5 in. cm.
This rare, early work by Tom Sachs is from a series of 15 "unique" variants, of which the present work is #7. The construction is made up of various media including cardboard, plywood, metal, synthetic polymer paint, ink, thermal adhesive, and found/fabricated objects. The objects are: a Tiffany & Co. Glock pistol, an Hermes hand grenade, an Hermes pocket address book, and a silvered Cartier lighter. The work is hand-stamped throughout by the artist.
Contemporary American sculptor Tom Sachs (b. 1966) is known for his elaborate recreations of known objects or icons from collected materials. Through feats of artistic engineering, Sachs has used foam-core and glue to recreate Le Corbusier’s Unité d'Habitation; made a Chanel chainsaw out of cardboard and thermal adhesive; and crafted a 1:1 model of the Apollo lunar module, complete with mission control, from a range of materials. Appropriating his ideas from pop culture—including the realms of fast food, hip-hop music, luxury fashion labels, historical narrative, and even skateboarding— Sachs critiques commercial imagery and materialism. Sachs’s meticulously and exquisitely rendered sculptures elevate the value of craftsmanship above the forces of consumerism and globalization. He has been the recipient of the Architectural Association Furniture Prize (1987) and the Aspen Art Award (2012), and he has had solo exhibitions at and the Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo, Norway (2006); Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA (2007); and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France and Salzburg, Austria (2008, 2009, 2011).
Selected Public Collections:
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo, Norway
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Jewish Museum, New York, NY
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY