Felt Suit, 1970. Felt, sewn and stamped in blue, jacket: 33 x 25 in (83.8 x 63.5 cm);pants: 45 x 23 in (114.3 x 58.4 cm) numbered 89 in blue ink on a label affixed to the inside jacket (the edition was 100 and 10 hors commerce), published by Galerie René Block, Berlin, in very good condition.

Edition Schellmann 1974
Jörg Schellmann 26
The Felt Suit is one of Jospeh Beuys most iconic multiples. It is also one of the most iconic scultpture/multiples of the twentieth century,alongside Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, 1917and Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes, 1964. The object consists of three pieces: Two felt objects, of which one is modeled after a pair of trousers and the other after a suit jacket complete with pockets and collar. The third piece is a ready-made coat hanger that differs from home to home. Only the “jacket“ is hung from the hanger, the “pants“ are sewn into the “jacket” so not to reference the storage of a piece of clothing but rather the imagery of an absent human body. Felt is the suit’s only material. There are no buttons and no zipper that would allow for actually wearing it without any significant alterations. Furthermore, the arms and legs have been extended beyond the human norm. Thus this “suit” is clearly distinguished as an object designed for perception only. Felt as an organic material of insulation of heat plays a central role within the context of the rich individual iconography Jospeh Beuys generated within his oeuvre. The Felt Suit is part of a series of sculptures and objects that feature protective and insulating felt-covers. There is an illustrious array of sewn in musical instruments and protective wrappings of various things. In some cases the covers without objects resume a sculptural presence of their own. Within this context the “suit” takes a singularly important position as it references the human body to be potentially insulated. It also functions as an image for Beuys’ understanding of the „Wärmeplastik Mensch“, (man as a sculptural body of warmth). This particular warmth is referring far beyond the aspects of mere physical energy. Much rather warmth is identified as a “quality of thought”, essential for the great energetic impact that Beuys saw as the potential for creative and social ideas and concepts. Against this background the Felt Suit is not to be seen as the image of an empty shell marking the absence of a human body. It can instead be identified literally as avisual „figure of thought“. With the extensions of its the arms and legs this figure reaches out metaphorically, indicating spiritual gain and connection. Beuys made his physical presence and the imagery of his trademark appearance an important part of his work. Well beyond his actions and performances he established a number of symbolic references to his own body in various objects and installations. In some cases pieces of clothing served as images of the artist in his physical absence. As the felt suit was modeled after one of Beuys’ personal suits, it can be interpreted as an image of his presence, functioning in a similar way as the display of his fur coat in his late tomb-like installation Palazzo Regale created only a year before he died. In 1970, the year he created the Felt Suit, Beuys most energetically engaged in extending the parameters of art and art making into the political arena. He acted as a teacher, as activist and promoter of alternative concepts and ideas for cultural and social orders, successfully influencing political change in Germany. As a multiple, the Felt Suit, as a „figure of thought“, metaphorically grants the multiple presence of the artist in at least one hundred different locations. Here the multiplied object does not merely function as a reproduction of one artwork in limited numbers. It can rather be argued that the entire edition creates one body of work establishing an international promotional network for the artist’s ideas. Securing his symbolic presence to this very day, it captures the messianic qualities of Beuys’ unquestioned creative optimism in a unique and ever growing influence.