Erwin Wurm
Acrylic, cloth, paint
48 × 20 × 12 cm · 18 7/8 × 7 7/8 × 4 3/4 inches
private collection
Erwin Wurm is famous for the One Minute Figures and One Minute Sculptures that he has been making since the late 1980s. In these, he gives instructions to himself, a model or member of the public: the person is asked to perform a certain action, or to interact with an everyday object in a specific way. Falling somewhere between ephemeral sculpture, performance and relational aesthetics, these incongruous (or even absurd) moments have been documented in photographs, drawings and videos. This interrogation of the very definition of sculpture is applied not only to human beings, but also to objects. In his three-dimensional works, in which he variously uses wood, Styrofoam, resin, paint, ceramics and textiles, Wurm often connects deeply emotional and psychological conditions to the human body as an ‘object’. In so doing, he deliberately challenges traditional forms and pushes them towards precarious states of distortion and tension. Humour permeates his oeuvre, which is also underpinned by a fierce critique of consumer society and contemporary culture. Recent projects, such as Melting Houses and Drinking Sculptures, return to the participatory aspect of his earlier pieces and involve the viewer in the making or the activating of the artwork.
Recent solo exhibition include the CAC Málaga – Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Málaga, Spain (2012), The Beauty Business at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, USA (2011), Wear Me Out at the Middleheim museum, Antwerp, Belgium (2011) and Liquid Reality at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany (2010). His work Narrow House was shown at the Venice Biennale in 2011. Wurm’s first exhibition with Xavier Hufkens was in 2005.
Erwin Wurm was born in 1954. He lives in Vienna and Limberg, Austria.
Squirt (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Bronze, grey patina
38 × 17 × 12 cm, 15 × 6 3/4 × 4 3/4 inches
private collection
Gulp (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Bronze, black patina
49 × 43 × 50 cm, 19 1/4 × 16 7/8 × 19 5/8 inches
private collection
Untitled (edition of 5 + 2 AP), 2009
C-print
144 × 114 cm, 56 3/4 × 44 7/8 inches
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Banana Man (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Aluminium, paint
88 × 27 × 27 cm, 34 5/8 × 10 5/8 × 10 5/8 inches
private collection
Spit pot (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Bronze, paint
33,5 × 22 × 15 cm, 13 1/4 × 8 5/8 × 5 7/8 inches
private collection
Gherkin (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Acrylic, bronze, paint, cloth
48,5 × 25 × 19 cm, 19 1/8 × 9 7/8 × 7 1/2 inches
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Big Gulp (edition of 3 + 1 AP), 2009
Bronze, dark patina
175 × 155 × 200 cm, 68 7/8 × 61 × 78 3/4 inches
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Goof (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Bronze, black mat patina
55 × 50 × 36 cm, 21 5/8 × 19 5/8 × 14 1/8 inches
private collection
Untitled (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Acrylic, paint, cloth
60 × 29 × 14 cm, 23 5/8 × 11 3/8 × 5 1/2 inches
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Elise (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Bronze, black mat patina
85,5 × 27 × 31 cm, 33 5/8 × 10 5/8 × 12 1/4 inches
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Suit (purple) (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2009
Acrylic, cloth, paint
48 × 20 × 12 cm, 18 7/8 × 7 7/8 × 4 3/4 inches
private collection
Leg (unique), 2009
Marble (Bardiglio)
47 × 15 × 9 cm, 18 1/2 × 5 7/8 × 3 1/2 inches
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But (unique), 2009
Canvas, wool
36 × 30,5 × 2,5 cm, 14 1/8 × 12 × 1 inches
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Anger Bumps (edition of 3+ 2 AP), 2007
Acrylic, clothes
152 × 73 × 44,5 cm, 59 7/8 × 28 3/4 × 17 1/2 inches
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Mental yellow, 2007
Canvas, wool
210 × 190 cm, 82 5/8 × 74 3/4 inches
private collection
Silence, 2007
Styrofoam, acrylic, wool
145 × 190 × 180 cm, 57 1/8 × 74 3/4 × 70 7/8 inches
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Untitled (Fountain) (edition of 3 + 2 AP), 2007
Concrete, water, pump
11 × 125 × 190 cm, 4 3/8 × 49 1/4 × 74 3/4 inches
private collection
Untitled, 2007
Ink on paper
24 × 32 cm, 9 1/2 × 12 5/8 inches
private collection
Untitled, 2007
Ink on paper
24 × 32 cm, 9 1/2 × 12 5/8 inches
private collection
Untitled, 2007
Ink on paper
24 × 32 cm, 9 1/2 × 12 5/8 inches
private collection
Misconceiveable (edition of 7 + 3 AP), 2007
Sculpture in epoxy resin, car paint
80 × 57 × 115 cm, 31 1/2 × 22 1/2 × 45 1/4 inches
private collection
Tell (edition of 7 + 3 AP), 2007
Video, DVD
84 × 51 × 2 cm, 33 1/8 × 20 1/8 × 3/4 inches
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Art Basel f... Dokumenta (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 2006
Sculpture in acrylic
62 × 124 × 85 cm, 24 3/8 × 48 7/8 × 33 1/2 inches
private collection
Adorno as Oliver Hardy in the Bohemian Girl (1936), and the burden of desperation (edition of 8 + 2 AP), 2006
Acrylic sculpture
71 × 142 × 67 cm, 28 × 55 7/8 × 26 3/8 inches
private collection
Deleuze kneeling down (edition of 8 + 2 AP), 2006
Sculpture in acrylic, paint
86 × 40 × 31 cm, 33 7/8 × 15 3/4 × 12 1/4 inches
private collection
Leopoldstadt (1/5), 2004
C-print
80 × 66 cm, 31 1/2 × 26 inches
private collection
Curator (edition of 5 + 2 AP), 1998
C-print
46 × 38 cm, 18 1/8 × 15 inches
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Curator - Jérôme Sans (edition of 5 + 2 AP), 1998
C-print
46 × 38 cm, 18 1/8 × 15 inches
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Curator - Peter Doroshenko (edition of 5 + 2 AP), 1998
C-print
46 × 38 cm, 18 1/8 × 15 inches
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Untitled (edition of 6 + 2 AP), 0
Acrylics, clay and paint
49,5 × 15,5 × 16 cm, 19 1/2 × 6 1/8 × 6 1/4 inches
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Request for information
C-print
144 × 114 cm, 56 3/4 × 44 7/8 inches
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Acrylic, bronze, paint, cloth
48,5 × 25 × 19 cm, 19 1/8 × 9 7/8 × 7 1/2 inches
Alternatively, find our contact details here.
Request for information
Bronze, dark patina
175 × 155 × 200 cm, 68 7/8 × 61 × 78 3/4 inches
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Acrylic, paint, cloth
60 × 29 × 14 cm, 23 5/8 × 11 3/8 × 5 1/2 inches
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Bronze, black mat patina
85,5 × 27 × 31 cm, 33 5/8 × 10 5/8 × 12 1/4 inches
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Marble (Bardiglio)
47 × 15 × 9 cm, 18 1/2 × 5 7/8 × 3 1/2 inches
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Canvas, wool
36 × 30,5 × 2,5 cm, 14 1/8 × 12 × 1 inches
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Acrylic, clothes
152 × 73 × 44,5 cm, 59 7/8 × 28 3/4 × 17 1/2 inches
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Styrofoam, acrylic, wool
145 × 190 × 180 cm, 57 1/8 × 74 3/4 × 70 7/8 inches
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Video, DVD
84 × 51 × 2 cm, 33 1/8 × 20 1/8 × 3/4 inches
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Request for information
C-print
46 × 38 cm, 18 1/8 × 15 inches
Alternatively, find our contact details here.
Request for information
C-print
46 × 38 cm, 18 1/8 × 15 inches
Alternatively, find our contact details here.
Request for information
C-print
46 × 38 cm, 18 1/8 × 15 inches
Alternatively, find our contact details here.
Request for information
Acrylics, clay and paint
49,5 × 15,5 × 16 cm, 19 1/2 × 6 1/8 × 6 1/4 inches
Alternatively, find our contact details here.
Exhibitions
2009
Erwin Wurm
Desperate Philosophers
2007
Erwin Wurm
New Sculptures
2005