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Erwin Wurm  (Austrian, 1954) 

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Erwin Wurm (Austrian, b.1954) is an artist best known for his strange depictions of everyday life and his humorous approach to the Formalism style. He was born in Bruck an der Mur and studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna and the Academy of Fine Arts in Austria. Wurm takes everyday object such as nails, screws, and almost anything else, and creates breathtaking sculptures that make people question exactly what defines a sculpture. He has been working on One Minute Sculpturessince the late 1980s; in these works, a model poses with everyday objects, but in a strange and almost unnatural way.

These sculptures are created almost instantaneously and with little thought beforehand. The images are pornographic or violent, and they are outside the realm of what the objects are supposed to be used for. Since the sculptures are so spontaneous, they are not crafted in traditional mediums and instead are captured with film. Humor is an integral facet of Wurm's work. While many other artists prefer to see their work as poignant and serious, he has no problem eliciting a few chuckles. In Truck, a truck curves up against a building, and in House, the artist presents a small house that is the very definition of claustrophobia.

Wurm’s work involves taking something mundane and enlarging, curving, or otherwise distorting it. His goal is to cause the viewer to look closer at the sculpture and find its true meaning. His notoriety has extended beyond the art world and was mentioned in the Red Hot Chili Pepper video Can't Stop as an inspiration for their imagery. Worm has stated that his inspiration comes from a love of everyday life, and that everything around him is useful and a part of his creative process. One of Wurm's most recent pieces is called Fat Car, which shows large life-sized sculptures that are obese and puffy. His works have been shown at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and Vienna, the Musee d'Art Contemporain in Lyon, France, and the Centre Pompidou in France. Wurm resides in Vienna and Limburg, Austria.
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Erwin Wurm, White Bucket (Synthesa)

 

Erwin Wurm
White Bucket (Synthesa)
2013
Xavier Hufkens
Erwin Wurm, Big House Attack I

 

Erwin Wurm
Big House Attack I
2013
Xavier Hufkens
Erwin Wurm, Ohne Titel

 

Erwin Wurm
Ohne Titel
1984
Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman
Erwin Wurm, Be a Terrorist

 

Erwin Wurm
Be a Terrorist
1999
Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman
Erwin Wurm, Home

 

Erwin Wurm
Home
2006
Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman
Erwin Wurm, Lenin

 

Erwin Wurm
Lenin
2013
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
Erwin Wurm, Untitled (Serie Hamlet)

 

Erwin Wurm
Untitled (Serie Hamlet)
2007
Christophe Guye Galerie
Erwin Wurm, French Police Cap

 

Erwin Wurm
French Police Cap
2010
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
Erwin Wurm, Home - gulp (I)

 

Erwin Wurm
Home - gulp (I)
2011
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
Past auction results (291)  View All
Erwin Wurm, One Minute Sculptures (3 works from One Minute Sculptures)

 

Erwin Wurm
One Minute Sculptures (3 works from One Minute Sculptures), 1997
c-prints, mntd

 

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Erwin Wurm, Thinking About Montaigne and Thinking About Kant (diptych)

 

Erwin Wurm
Thinking About Montaigne and Thinking About Kant (diptych), 1999
c-print on aluminum

 

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Erwin Wurm, Deleuze Kneeling Down

 

Erwin Wurm
Deleuze Kneeling Down, 2006
acrylic resin and knitted jumper

 

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1954   Born in Bruck/Mur, Austria
  Lives and works in Vienna and New York
2012   Gold, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
2012   CAC Málaga – Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Málaga, Spain (solo)
2012   Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, USA
 (solo)
2012   Albertina, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2011 - 2012   Beauty Business, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, USA (solo)
2011 - 2012   new sculptures, Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Innsbruck, Austria (solo)
2011   The Beauty Business, gem – Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands (solo)
2011   Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, USA (solo)
2011   Schöner Wohnen, MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2011   Wear me out, Middleheimmuseum, Antwerp, Belgium (solo)
2011   Misconceivable, Kunsthallen Brandts / Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark (solo)
2011   Yes Biological, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France (solo)
2011   Micro-Retrospective, Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia (ICA-Sofia), Sofia, Bulgaria (solo)
2011   Superstress, 54th Biennale di Venezia, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Venice, Italy
2011   The Original Copy: Photography of Sculpture 1839 to Today, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
2011   Car Culture – Medien der Mobilität, ZKM, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe, Germany
2010   The Original Copy: Photography of Sculpture, 1839 to Today, MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
2010   Atopia, CCCB, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Spain
2010   Liquid Reality, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany (curator: Stephan Berg) (solo)
2010   Narrow Mist, UCCA – Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China (curator: Jerome Sans) (solo)
2010   Private Wurm, Kunst der Gegenwart – Essl Museum, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2010   Selbstportrait als Essiggurkerl, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Austria (solo)
2010   Elogiate i ceti inferiori soprattutto per rimanere inferiori, BASE, Progetti per L’Arte, Firenze, Italy (solo)
2010   Gulp, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
2010   Project – Selfportrait as Pickles, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
2009   Desperate Philosophers, Galerie Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium (solo)
2009   The Desperate Philosophers – Neue Skulpturen, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Salzburg, Austria (solo)
2009   3rd Moscow Biennial, Moscow, Russia (curator: Jean-Hubert Martin)
2008   Art of Participation: 1950 to Now, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA
2008   Ich – Es – Überich, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (solo)
2008   Hypnose II, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2008   Galerie Nicola von Senger, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
2008   Tell, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria (solo)
2007   Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany (solo)
2007   Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland (solo)
2007   Musée d’Art Contemporain Lyon, Lyon, France (solo)
2007   Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö, Sweden (solo)
2007   Galerie Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium (solo)
2007   Erwin Wurm, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal (solo)
2007   Affinities- Deutsche Guggenheim, 1997-2007, Guggenheim in Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2007   All about laughter: role of humors in contemporary art, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2007   I am future melancholic, Tate Modern, London, UK
2007   Il était une fois, l’École d’Arts Plastiques de Vitrolles, Vitrolles, France
2007   Salon de la Kakanie, Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia
2007   Hamlet, Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland (solo)
2006   All the Best. The Deutsche Bank Collection and Zaha Hadid, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
2006   Le mouvement des images, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
2006   Simultan, zwei Sammlungen österreichischer Fotographie, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland
2006   Display of UBS Collection, Tate Modern, London, UK
2006   Art and Play, Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
2006   Adorno was wrong with his ideas about art, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Austria (solo)
2006   Home, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris, France (solo)
2006   Disziplin der Subjektivität, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria (solo)
2006   Keep a cool head, MUMOK Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2006   The artist who swallowed the world, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany (solo)
2006   Erwin Wurm. New Sculpture, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK (solo)
2006   The Idiot, Sala de Exposiciones Canal de Isabel II, Madrid, Spain (solo)
2006   I love my time, I don’t like my time: Recent works by Erwin Wurm, Rose Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA / Frye Art Museum, Seattle, USA (solo)
2006   SECCA, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston Salem, USA (solo)
2006   Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany (solo)
2006   CAPC Musée d’art contemporain, Bordeaux, France (solo)
2005   Galerie Ars Futura, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
2005   Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris, France (solo)
2005   Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne, Germany (solo)
2005   Drive. Automobili nell’Arte Contemporanea, GAM, Galleria d’Arte Contemporanea Bologna, Italy
2005   Erwin Wurm, MACRO Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Roma, Italy (solo)
2005   Glue your brain, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (solo)
2005   Erwin Wurm, Peggy Guggenheim Collection,Venice, Italy (solo)
2005   Rundlederwelten, Gropiusbau, Berlin, Germany
2005   In the Line of Flight, China Millenium Art Museum, Bejing, China
2005   Erwin Wurm, Museo do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal (solo)
2005   Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (solo)
2005   I love my time, I don’t like my time: Recent works by Erwin Wurm, Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, USA (solo)
2005   Galerie Nicola von Senger, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
2005   Am I a House?, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2005   The Idiot, Galerie Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium (solo)
2005   Biennale d'Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France (curators: Jérome Sans, Nicolas Bourriaud)
2005   Snow white and the seven dwarfs, Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander (curator: Udo Kittelmann)
2005   Spielräume, Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum - Zentrum Internationaler Skulptur, Duisburg, Germany
2005   Situation Comedy: Humor in recent art, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii/ Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago/ Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
2005   Sweet Temptations, Kunstverein St. Gallen Kunstmuseum, Switzerland
2005   Marking Time, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, The Getty Center, Los Angeles, USA
2005   Scultura leggera Light Sculpture, 503 Mulino, Vicenza
2005   Munch revisited, Museum am Ostwall, Ausstellungshalle der Stadt Dortmund, Germany
2005   Polaroid als Geste, Museum für Photographie, Braunschweig, Germany
2004   Seville International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Seville (curator: Harald Szeemann)
2004   Photo and Video Sculpture by Erwin Wurm, KvadraT Gallery, St. Petersburg, Russia (solo)
2004   I love my time, I don’t like my time, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, USA (solo)
2004   European Dream, Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico (curator: Pamela Echeverria) (solo)
2004   TRAC Tecnologie e Ricerca Artistica Contemporanea, Palazzo Fichera, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea, Catania, Italy (solo)
2004   International Biennial Foundation of Contemporary Art of Seville, Sevilla, Spain
2004   Arti & Architettura, 1900-2000, Palazzo Ducale, Genoa, Italy
2004   Skulptur. Prekärer Realismus zwischen Melancholie und Komik, Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria
2004   Ich will, dass Du mir glaubst!, 9. Triennale Kleinplastik Fellbach, Fellbach, Germany
2004   Orozco - Wentworth - Wurm, FotoGrafia - International Rome Festival, The Andersen Museum, Rome, Italy
2004   Soziale Kreaturen – wie Körper Kunst wird, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
2004   Global World - Private Universe, Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, St.Gallen, Switzerland
2004   Von Angesicht zu Angesicht – Das Antlitz des Menschen in der Kunst, Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, St.Gallen, Switzerland
2004   Porträts. Picasso, Bacon, Warhol …, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Austria
2004   Vision einer Sammlung, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
2004   Farbige Plastik, Museum der Moderne Rupertinum, Salzburg, Austria
2004   Le proche et le lointain, Domaine de Kerguéhennec, Centre d'art contemporain, Bignan, France
2004   LASTWINTERSPRINGNEVERCAME, Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul, Turkey
2004   Paisaje después de la tormenta [Landscape after the storm], T20 Gallery, Murcia, Spain
2004   Dessins et des autres, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris, France
2004   Exposition collective de sculpture, Anne de Villepoix, Paris, France
2004   Dessins et des autres – part II, Galerie Catherine Bastide, Brussels, Belgium
2004   A 20 h Prêts à prêter 1, Frac Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Marseille, France
2004   Close Reading #3, objectif_exhibitions, Antwerp, Belgium
2004   Art Unlimited, Art 35 Basel, Switzerland
2004   Krinzinger Österreich, Künstler der Galerie (A), Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria
2004   Virtual Frame, Kunsthalle Wien project space Karlsplatz, Vienna, Austria
2004   Haus und Körper, Galerie Francoise Heitsch, Munich, Germany
2004   4ème Biennale de la Photographie et des Arts visuels, Centre Culturel "Les Chiroux", Liège, Belqium
2004   Brooklyn Euphoria Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, USA
2004   Grotesque, burlesque et parody, Abbaye Saint-André, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Meymac, France
2004   Galerie Espai Lucas, Valencia, Spain (solo)
2004   Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, USA (solo)
2004   Jack Hanley Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (solo)
2003   European Dream, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Col San Angel, Mexico City / Casa ITESO-Clavigero, Guadalajara, Mexico (curator: Pamela Echeverria) (solo)
2003   Erwin Wurm – One Minute Sculptures/Orifice, Melbourne International Festival, ACCA Australian centre for Contemporary Art / Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia (solo)
2003   Erwin Wurm videos, RISD - Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA (solo)
2003   One Minute Sculptures, Erwin Wurm, Mairies des 13e et 14e arrondissements, FRAC-PACA (Fonds régional d'art contemporain Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), Marseille, France (solo)
2003   Galerie Ars Futura, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
2003   Unlimited Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece (solo)
2003   Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris, France (solo)
2003   Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne, Germany (solo)
2003   Galeria La Fabrica, Madrid, Spain (solo)
2003   Hilfe, Graz, Galerie Eugen Lendl, Graz, Austria (solo)
2003   ZKM , Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany (solo)
2002   Fat Survival – Handlungsformen der Skulptur, Neue Galerie Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria (solo)
2002   Centre National de la Photographie, Paris, France (solo)
2002   Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna, Italy (solo)
2002   Erwin Wurm, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (solo)
2002   Sculptures with embarrassment, Studio K, Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland (solo)
2002   Erwin Wurm Videoarbeiten 1989-2002, Akademie der bildenden Künste, Budapest, Hungary (solo)
2002   Galerie Art:Concept, Paris, France (solo)
2002   Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, USA (solo)
2002   Vendanta Gallery, Chicago, USA (solo)
2002   Galerie Häusler, Munich, Germany (solo)
2001   Performance Drawings, Drawing Centre, New York, USA (solo)
2001   Sleeping for two months, Centre pour l´Image Contemporaine, Geneva, Switzerland (solo)
2001   Videos 1991 – 2001, Miro Foundation, Barcelona, Spain (solo)
2001   Fat car, MAMCO Museé d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland (solo)
2001   Galerie Ars Futura, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
2001   Galeria Espai Luca, Valencia, Spain (solo)
2001   Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2001   Galerie The Box, Turin, Italy (solo)
2000   Photographers Gallery, London, England (solo)
2000   F.R.A.C. Limousin, Limoges, France (solo)
2000   Feelings, L´Ecole des Beaux-arts, Rouen, France (solo)
2000   Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, USA (solo)
2000   Unlimited Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece (solo)
2000   Galerie Art : Concept, Paris, France (solo)
1999   Project wall, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (solo)
1998   Institute of Visual Arts, UW, Milwaukee, USA (solo)
1997   Me, me fat watching TV, Galleria The Box, Turin, Italy (solo)
1982   Neue Skulptur, Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria
1982   Triumph Skulptur, Galerie Rolf Ricke, Cologne, Germany
1981   Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria (solo)
2005    ARTFORUM International, January 2005, New York, USA, p. 187
2005    Flash Art, January-February 2005, Vol. XXXVIII, No.240, Mailand, Italy, p. 117
2004    Verhagen, Eric. "L’échec sculptural de Erwin Wurm." Art Press (Paris, France), Number 307, December, pp. 18-23, cover.
2004    Marsola, Helga. “Erwin Wurm.” Flash Art (Milan, August/September), p. 128.
2004    Marsola, Helga. “Erwin Wurm,” EXIBART on paper (Florence, June/July).
2004    Contemporary (London), no. 60, p. 74.
2004    Olivares, Rosa. “Este no es un texto de un minuto/This is not a one minute text.” EXIT (Madrid), no. 13, pp. 72–93.
2004    Olivares, Rosa. “Teoría, teóricos, teorética, teorizante . . . teomanía.” EXITBOOK (Madrid), no. 3, pp. 4–5.
2004    Jarque, Vicente. “Sencillo y hondo.” El País (Madrid), February 14, p. 17.
2004    Carrasco, Alex. “Erwin Wurm, No lo llames burla.” NEO2 (Madrid), no. 33 (February/March), pp.57–58.
2003    Cash, Stefanie: Stand-Up Artist in: Art in America, December, New York, USA, pp.84-87, cover.
2003    Gavulová, Lucia: Kto je Erwin Wurm? in: VLNA, no. 16, Bratislava, Slovakia, pp.4-11.
2003    Fanchette, Frédérique: Simplement incorrect in: Libération, November 14, France, pp.38-39.
2003    Vozmediano, Elena: Wurm y la escultura efimera in: El Cultural, 18.9.2003, p. 29.
2003    Kissler, Alexander: Das Orakel der Steiermark in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Nr. 152, 5./6. July, p. 17.
2003    Schlüter, Ralf: Kopf in den Eimer in: ART, Hamburg, Deutschland, Nr. 6, June, p. 135.
2003    Kröner, Magdalena, Körper auf den Punkt gebracht in: die tageszeitung, Berlin, Germany, March 27, p. 16.
2003    Reininghaus, Alexandra: Eine Skulptur für alle Fälle in: ART, Hamburg, Germany, Nr. 4, April, p.18 - 25.
2003    Adbusters, Blaine, WA, USA, Jan/Feb Vol 11 No.1, pp. 29 & 34.
2003    Erwin Wurm in: Time Out, May 1-7, No. 11, p. 100.


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