Paranoia / Squirrel
Silkscreen print on mirror-polished stainless steel sheets, polyurethane foam sheets, two-compound polyurethane adhesive, stainless steel beams, aluminium L. sections and screws, in two parts
2010
Nut 103 x 44.2 x 49 cm
Queen 49 x 17 x 66 cm
Edition: 2/2 + 1 AP
| Estimate: | CHF 100,000 - CHF 200,000 |
| Bidding ends: |
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| Starting bid: | CHF 50,000 |
Internationally renowned for his provocative sculptures and installations, which captivate not least through their complexity and wit, the Swiss artist Urs Fischer (b. 1973, Zurich), who lives in Los Angeles, sews confusion with his work Paranoia / Squirrel (2010). At first glance, the work appears to have nothing to do with its title: silkscreen prints unfold across the mirror-polished stainless-steel surfaces of two rectangular objects. One shows a nut and bolt, magnified to an oversized scale, the other a used playing card – a court card of the queen of hearts. Through their mirror reflections, the objects insert themselves into the viewer’s surroundings and so impress themselves on our perception: do we jump like a startled squirrel, or think ourselves paranoid, when we unexpectedly find a gigantic nut and bolt standing next to us in the mirror?
The Fondation Beyeler showed installations by Urs Fischer most recently in 2025, when he intervened with artworks in Basel’s Marktplatz and several neighbouring locations.
Silkscreen print on mirror-polished stainless-steel sheets, polyurethane foam sheets, two-compound polyurethane adhesive, stainless steel beams, aluminium L sections and screws, in 2 parts
Nut: 103 x 44.2 x 49 cm
Queen: 49 x 17 x 66 cm
Edition: 2/2 + 1 AP
Copyright: Urs Fischer
Courtesy: Urs Fischer and Sadie Coles HQ, London
Provenance: donated by Nicolai and Michael Frahm