Franz West (1947-2012)

'In 1989, while in New York, Franz West and myself met a few times for drinks, lunches or dinners. On one of these occasions, we finished a bottle of Italian white wine which Franz took home, to the place where he was staying at in New York. Some days later, he gave me a bottle of French Cognac with the command to finish the bottle myself and to return him the empty bottle. Since Cognac is not my cup of tea, I emptied the Cognac bottle in the bath tub at the hotel I was staying in. Two days later, I returned him the empty Cognac bottle. He didn't ask a thing and I didnt say a thing. A few days later, he invited me to the place he was staying at, and showed me two new works, which he then gave me as a present. Untitled, with the Cognac bottle, I gave to a very dear friend in New York. Untitled, 1989, the work with the Italian white wine bottle, I had shipped to Europe, Brussels, where I had it in my home.'

(Jan Vercruysse, Brussels, 1 November 2012).