Joseph Beuys

Untitled (Vitrine)

1983

Not on display

Artist: Joseph Beuys 1921–1986
Original title: Ohne Titel (Vitrine)
Medium: Wood, glass, metal and fat
Dimensions: Object: 2060 x 2200 x 500 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Purchased 1984
Reference: T03825

Display caption

Beuys assembled this vitrine in 1983 to represent the principle themes of his life and work. He often used unusual materials for his sculptures, investing them with personal or spiritual significance. The objects in this case all include fat, a material that Beuys considered ‘very basic to life’. The ones on the left also use beeswax, which symbolised warmth for Beuys. In the middle is a sealed jar containing pork dripping, with a thermometer resting on it. On the right are Fat Corner, also made of pork dripping, and Depression, a zinc box filled with tallow from mutton.

Gallery label, May 2008

Catalogue entry

Joseph Beuys 1921-1986

T03825 Untitled (Vitrine) 1983

Five untitled objects, from left to right, butter and wax 210 x 130 x 120 (8 3/8 x 5 1/4 x 4 3/4); butter, wax, metal cutter and copper wire 135 x 435 x 225 (5 3/8 x 17 1/8 x 8 7/8); glass, rubber, mercury and pork dripping 145 x 124 x 105 (5 5/8 x 4 7/8 x 4 1/8); zinc and tallow 155 x 380 x 340 (6 1/8 x 15 x 13 3/8); pork dripping 175 x 305 x 295 (6 7/8 x 12 x 11 5/8) in glass, plywood and wood cabinet on steel framework 2060 x 2200 x 500 (81 1/8 x 86 5/8 x 19 3/4)
Not inscribed
Purchased from Anthony d'Offay Gallery (Grant-in-Aid) 1984
Exh: Joseph Beuys Vitrines: Forms from the Sixties, Anthony d'Offay Gallery, Sept.- Oct. 1983 (as 'Fat'); Forty Years of Modern Art 1945-1985, Tate Gallery, Feb-April 1986 (not in cat.)

See entry on T03826.

Published in:
The Tate Gallery 1984-86: Illustrated Catalogue of Acquisitions Including Supplement to Catalogue of Acquisitions 1982-84, Tate Gallery, London 1988, p.494