Erwin Wurm
Albertina Modern
Erwin Wurm
Albertina Modern
Exhibition at the Albertina Modern in Vienna
Erwin Wurm. The Retrospective
Erwin Wurm. The retrospective on his 70th birthday
Exhibition at the Albertina Modern
until 9 March 2025
Erwin Wurm is an Austrian artist who was born in Bruck an der Mur (Austria) in 1954. He is known for his diverse works in the fields of sculpture, installation, and performance art. His work has been recognised internationally, and he is considered one of the most important contemporary Austrian artists. The Albertina Modern is celebrating his 70th birthday with a fantastic exhibition!
And we’re celebrating too! 🎉
Erwin Wurm
Tickets
The details
at a glance
Exhibiton:
Erwin Wurm. The retrospective on his 70th birthday
Exhibition at the Albertina Modern
13 September 2024 until 9 March 2025
Opening hours:
Daily, 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Prices:
EUR 15.90 for adults
EUR 13.90 for visitors under 26, senior citizens aged 65 and over
Free admission for all under 19 years
ICOM-Card:
Free admission for ICOM members
Wurm’s works are impressive, humorous and often ironic. Wurm succeeds in confusing the brain with his art. For example, by combining ‘soft pillows’ and human body parts. He also places everyday objects or food (cucumbers) at the centre, which is thought-provoking. ‘Although every cucumber is individually different, it is still immediately identifiable as a cucumber and can be classified as such … just like a human being,’ explains Erwin Wurm. Good comparison, isn’t it? 😉
Erwin Wurm
The exhibition
It’s not just the cucumbers that are intended to make us think, but also the dehumanised bodies. With the ‘skins’, Wurm shows that we (can) imagine a person and their character based on an external sculpture, size, posture and choice of clothing.
It is impressive how expressive a yellow ‘hoodie’ can be and how tangible a body can be, even though it is not actually there. The objects are really well staged and perfectly distributed in the room, so that the movement of the visitors creates a wonderful interplay with people and sculptures.
Clothing plays a major role in Wurm’s work. He began creating his first clothing sculptures in the 1990s. He still works with them today. For him, clothing is like a second skin. It protects the body, provides warmth and can even serve as a protective shield. According to the motto ‘Clothes make the man’, he shows how fashion conveys the expression of a personality. This can also be seen, for example, in his box figures, where he dresses cubic shapes in fashionable shirts or suits.
The jumper becomes part of Wurm’s art on several occasions. In rigid form, by putting jumpers over armchairs, or in motion, by putting 18 jumpers on top of each other. With the last action, the artist addresses the theme of ‘mass and volume’ and shows how clothing changes physical volume. Here too: Wurm uses everyday objects to provoke thought.
Every room in the exhibition at the Albertina Modern is fascinating and makes you want to get in touch with the art, to interact with it. Fortunately, this is even possible!
Some art objects have extra instructions from the artist, inviting you to become part of the art yourself. The so-called ‘One Minute Sculptures’. Lie down on the floor, hang on the pole or act with the cleaning products!
A great activity for young and old!
Conclusion
Wurm’s art is diverse – in form, size, style and materials. Perhaps it is precisely this diversity that makes the exhibition so exciting. Nothing is even remotely ‘boring’ or uninteresting.
Erwin Wurm is funny, and so is his art. The visitors smiled, laughed and engaged with modern art with obvious pleasure! I’ve never heard sentences like ‘And that’s supposed to be art?’, which has happened at other art exhibitions.
That’s one of the reasons why we absolutely recommend a visit to the exhibition!
Your Susi
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2024
With the support of Susanne Vukan.
With the permission of Albertina Modern.