Erwin Wurm

Erwin Wurm is an Austrian artist, born in 1954 in Bruck an der Mur. After completing his degree in art history, literature and German Studies at the University of Graz (1974-1977), he studied fine arts in Salzburg (1977-1979) and design in Vienna (1979-1982). Wurm considers all of his works sculptures, even thoughhe works with objects as well as with media such as photography, drawing and video. In his work, he shedsa critical light on everyday life, a caricature of our times, as in melting, swelling objects (“Fat House”, 2010 or “The Artist Who Swallowed the World”, 2006). Wurm’s work is often interpreted as questioning our understanding of art and its main concepts, as sculpture or performance. “One Minute Sculptures” (since 1980) is an ongoing project, often part of his solo exhibitions. Following the instruction, the viewer is photographed in a certain, instructed position. His works are on display in collections of museums and institutions all over the world, such as the Viennese MUMOK and the Parisian Centre Pompidou. In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Grand Austrian State Prize. Recently his work was exhibited at the Odunpazari Modern Museum in Turkey (2023), at the Kunsthaus Graz in Austria (2023), and at the national museum of art in Osaka, Japan (2023).