We are delighted to present Logical Disorder on the occasion of Gallery Weekend Berlin 2026—the first joint exhibition of Franz West and Bruno Gironcoli.

Franz West and Bruno Gironcoli rank among the most influential Austrian artists of the past decades. Their sculptures and objects are distinguished by a singular, immediately recognizable visual language and have had a lasting impact on the international art world.

Both were long regarded as outsiders before asserting themselves through persistence and a relentless creative drive. They remained closely connected throughout their lives, even though their works may at first appear markedly different.

West studied under Gironcoli at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in the 1970s. He described this as “the stroke of luck of my life.” Gironcoli became his mentor, granting him considerable freedom while introducing him to techniques and materials that would shape his entire oeuvre. Later, as West rose to become a leading figure on the international art scene, he was the one who helped to bring Gironcoli the recognition he deserved beyond Austria.

Although the practices and life careers of these two exceptional artists are deeply intertwined, there has never been a joint exhibition of West and Gironcoli. While their sculptures have repeatedly been contextualized in major group exhibitions, a dedicated exhibition focusing exclusively on the two has never taken place.

In Logical Disorder, their works are brought into direct dialogue for the first time. The student–teacher perspective not only opens up compelling insights, but also allows for an observation of the broader formation of two classic “solitary” artistic positions, sustained by mutual respect and exchange.

On the one hand, the exhibition reveals that West and Gironcoli share a fascination with the curious, the absurd, and the bizarre. In both practices, “that Kafkaesque strain” and “a humorous dream–day world,” as West once described it, repeatedly come to the fore.

On the other hand, the fundamentally different approaches and artistic practices each derives from this shared impulse toward the eccentric become apparent.

Gironcoli celebrates the apparatus; West the being. Gironcoli exalts the polished, immaculate, metallic surface; West the rugged, uneven, patched skin. Gironcoli creates technomorphic, ritualized, and mythological bodies; West produces seemingly casual, everyday-oriented objects that invite use. Gironcoli stands for monumentality, artistic authority, and auratic closure; West for the fragmentary, the anti-heroic, the participatory, the open sculpture.

In the encounter with the works on view, both the shared point of departure and their diverging directions become strikingly evident. West is represented in the exhibition with his iconic seating objects, his well-known Passstücke, and several collages. Gironcoli is presented with the legendary Burning Child, his characteristic aluminum casts, and numerous drawings.

The exhibition title Logical Disorder refers both to the “converging divergence” of West’s and Gironcoli’s works and to the impulse that seems to drive both of them: to give form to existence in all its absurdity.

Bruno Gironcoli (b. 1936 in Villach; d. 2010 in Vienna) participated in the Venice Biennale and the Lyon Biennale. His works have been shown at, among others, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt am Main, and mumok in Vienna. Franz West (b. 1947; d. 2012 in Vienna) was represented at the Venice Biennale and documenta in Kassel. His works have been on view at institutions including MoMA New York, LACMA Los Angeles, MMK Frankfurt, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Museum Ludwig in Cologne. In 2011, he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale.

Logical Disorder is presented in collaboration with Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Innsbruck/Vienna, which has supported the work of Franz West and Bruno Gironcoli for decades.