Eva & Franco Mattes

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Stolen Pieces (1995-97)

Over the course of two years we carried out a secret art project in which we stole fifty fragments from masterpieces by some of our favorite artists—including Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Beuys, Jean Tinguely, Jeff Koons, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marc Chagall—from renowned museums in the United States and Europe. The project was publicly revealed in 2010. The thefts were documented through photographs capturing either the act itself or the artworks before and after our intervention.

 

 

stolenpieces performance koonsEva & Franco Mattes, Jeff Koons

From Jeff Koons.

 

 

stolenpieces 42 tinguely work 1stolenpieces 42 tinguely

From Jean Tinguely.

 

 

stolenpieces 23 duchamp work
Eva & Franco Mattes, Marcel Duchamp

From Marcel Duchamp.

 

 

stolenpieces 38 warhol work
Eva & Franco Mattes, Andy Warhol

From Andy Warhol.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Robert RauschenbergEva & Franco Mattes, Robert Rauschenberg

From Robert Rauschenberg.

 

 

The final theft, involving a work by Alberto Burri, was recorded with a hidden camera.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Joseph Beuys

From Joseph Beuys.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Karel Appel

From Karel Appel.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Edward Kienholz

From Edward Kienholz.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Giorgio de Chirico

From Giorgio de Chirico.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Marc Chagall

From Marc Chagall.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Jean Tinguely

From Jean Tinguely.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Duane Hanson

From Duane Hanson.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Nam June Paik

From Nam June Paik.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Richard Artschwager

From Richard Artschwager.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Robert Morris

From Robert Morris.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Jasper Johns

From Jasper Johns.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Joseph Beuys

From Joseph Beuys.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Robert Smithson

From Robert Smithson.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Jeff Koons

From Jeff Koons.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Carl Andre

From Carl Andre.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Daniel Spoerri

From Daniel Spoerri.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, César

From César.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Raymond Hains

From Raymond Hains.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Jacques Villeglé

From Jacques Villeglé.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, César

From César.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Tom Wesselmann

From Tom Wesselmann.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Zoltán Kemény

From Zoltán Kemény.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Daniel Spoerri

From Daniel Spoerri.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, George Segal

From George Segal.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, César

From César.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, George Segal

From George Segal.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Jean Dubuffet

From Jean Dubuffet.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Martial Raysse

From Martial Raysse.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Giuseppe Penone

From Giuseppe Penone.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Philippe Parreno & Pierre Joseph

From Philippe Parreno & Pierre Joseph.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Raymond Hains

From Raymond Hains.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Valérie Favre

From Valérie Favre.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Martial Raysse

From Martial Raysse.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Dominique Gonzales-Foerster

From Dominique Gonzales-Foerster.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Edward Kienholz

From Edward Kienholz.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Alberto Burri

From Alberto Burri.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Wassily Kandinsky

From Wassily Kandinsky.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Joseph Beuys

From Joseph Beuys.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Nam June Paik

From Nam June Paik.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, César

From César.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Claes Oldenburg

From Claes Oldenburg.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Richard Long

From Richard Long.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Gilbert & George

From Gilbert & George.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Marcel Duchamp

From Marcel Duchamp.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, César

From César.

 

 

stolenpieces exhib carrollfletcher 6

 

 

 

stolenpieces exhib carrollfletcher 5

 

 

 

stolenpieces exhib carrollfletcher 2

 

 

 

stolenpieces exhib carrollfletcher 1

Installed at Carroll/Fletcher, London.

 

 

 

Blake Gopnik, The Washington Post.