Erwin Wurm

Erwin Wurm's work strikes me as being light, humurous, and deftly clever. There's a wit beneath the sarcasm that holds me. I laugh to myself on seeing his work, but below the initial layer of light-heartedness, there's a stab of intelligence that would evade all other than the sensitive viewer.

Wurm cocks a snook at the gallery establishment but is not disrespectful of the gallery. His use of materials is impressive, from common household objects, to sculpted foam & dust, and most of all his execution. His "Dust" series is incredible, and reminds me of the Wolfgang Laib pollen pieces. The care and precision rivals the labor an oiler painter, the calculations of a darkroom photographer, but Wurm's handling dust! And fashioning it into evidence of something, not the thing itself. The ability to cleverly point at something that once was, but is no longer (in this case with a flare of cynicism) is a difficult balance to achieve- Wurm delivers.

I'm curious what happens at the end of the installation- does the gallery just blow away the remaining dust? does Wurm vacuum it up for the next piece? is he particular about what kind of dust he uses? is he stopped at airports with suspicious bags of dust?

Artist Biography
Austrian, born 1954, currently lives and works in Vienna and Limburg, Austria.

Wurm is quoted as saying: "I am interested in the everyday life. All the materials that surrounded me could be useful, as well as the objects, topics involved in contemporary society. My work speaks about the whole entity of a human being: the physical, the spiritual, the psychological and the political."

Erwin Wurm is known for his humorous approach to formalism. About the use of humor in his work, Wurm says in an interview: "If you approach things with a sense of humor, people immediately assume you're not to be taken seriously. But I think truths about society and human existence can be approached in different ways. You don't always have to be deadly serious. Sarcasm and humor can help you see things in a lighter vein."

Quotes
1. "dear erwin, are your box statues anatomically correct? if not, how do you tell the male boxes from the female? I tried looking under their clothes, but it was really, really hard to tell." -name withheld

"at the moment, there are just male boxes, no female boxes. don't ask me why - I have no idea. an inner voice told me just to make male boxes."- erwin wrum
- letters to the artist - erwin wrum: narrow mist, ullens center for contemporary art (UCCA), beijing, july 17th to september 15th, 2010

2. "I am interested in the everyday life. All the materials that surrounded me could be useful, as well as the objects, topics involved in contemporary society. My work speaks about the whole entity of a human being: the physical, the spiritual, the psychological and the political."
- erwin wurm, Erwin Wurm: The Artist Who Swallowed the World, Davila, Fleck, Kunde, Pfaller, Waspe, MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst; Hatje Cantz 2007, ISBN-10: 3775718664


Narrow House


Narrow House, bathroom


Instructions on How to Be Politically Incorrect


Looking for a Bomb

Link to an interview with the artist
Link to gallery representing artist
Link to artist website