Scarcely any other artist duo has had such
an impact on Swiss contemporary art as have
Peter Fischli (b. 1952 in Zurich) and David
Weiss (1946–2012, Zurich). Their works focus
on everyday subjects that they re-interpret
to produce unexpected and paradoxical results.
The duo develops sculptures and installations
in a wide range of media from unfired clay
and rubber to photography and video. These
simple materials are then instrumentalised
for humorous but critical commentary on the
values our society holds dear.
Airports (Frankfurt) is part of a series by the
duo and shows a view of the tarmac at Frankfurt
Airport. This is a motif that is usually captured
as the start or end of a journey, either in memory
or physically as a photo. A fleeting snapshot, it
freeze-frames the great lumbering aircraft, while
the van driving by in the foreground and the human
figures captured in mid-stride look almost staged.
These qualities make it a good example of Fischli/
Weiss’s practice of working everyday life into
modern art. The viewers’ gaze is directed to a
known situation, but in a completely new way.
Colour photograph mounted on aluminium
150 × 210 cm
Edition of 6
Copyright: Peter Fischli and David Weiss
Provenance: donated by a Private Collection
