David Weiss (1946–2012)

Swiss artist, ingenious practitioner and diffident prankster David Weiss, sadly, died in April. He is remembered for his career-long collaboration with Peter Fischli.

Fischli/Weiss, The Point of Least Resistance (Der Geringste Widerstand), 1980
Colour Super 8 film enlarged to 16mm
30 minutes, sound
Peter Fischli and David Weiss dressed in furry brown rat and panda bear costume are roaming around Los Angeles on a quest for art success.

Fischli/Weiss, The Right Way (Der Rechte Weg), 1982
Colour Super 8 film
32 minutes, sound
Rat and bear are trekking across remote countryside in an attempt to rationalise experience of the natural world.

Fischli/Weiss, Fasion Show from The Sausage Series (Wurstserie), 1979
Chromogenic print
50cm x 70cm

Fischli/Weiss, Snowman (Schneeskulptur), 1990
Installation, Saarbrücken, Germany

Fischli/Weiss, Herr and Frau Einstein shortly after the conception of their son, the genius Albert, 1981, from Suddenly this Overview, 1981/2006
Unfired clay

Fischli/Weiss, The Way Things Go (Der Lauf der Dinge), 1987
Colour 16mm film
30 minutes, sound
Household objects laid out on a warehouse floor collide in absurd and unexpected ways.

The art duo's memorable capers are a joy to watch. The Right Way and The Way Things Go frame seemingly banal collisions between artist and everyday life with child-like wonderment that is disarming and touching.

Read an obituary to David Weiss written by art curator and critic Hans Ulrich Obrist.