Erwin Wurm (b. (b. 1954, Bruck an der Mur, Austria) is an Austrian artist renowned for pushing the boundaries of sculpture and conceptual art. Ever since his pioneering One Minute Sculptures of the 1990s – which invite viewers to briefly become living sculptures by posing with everyday objects – Wurm’s practice has explored the absurdity of everyday life with a humorous yet critical eye. His works span sculpture, performance, photography, drawing, and even painting, but at their core they share a fascination with the human body and the forms of daily existence. Wurm is perhaps best known for comically distorting ordinary things as a way to question consumerism, body image, and the human condition, inviting us to reconsider what a sculpture can be and how our own bodies and identities are reflected in the material world.
Still Blue, Wurm’s second solo exhibition at Mulier Mulier Gallery, presents a vibrant cross-section of his recent explorations in form, body, and absurdity. The show brings together freestanding sculptures in dialogue with works on canvas, creating an environment that is at once playful and profound. Across these works, Wurm continues to transform the familiar – pieces of clothing, buildings and cars – into surreal art objects. The results range from life-sized aluminum figures that resemble empty outfits, to small bronze architectural miniatures, to bold painted “flat sculptures” that blur the line between painting and object. Despite their variety, all the pieces resonate with Wurm’s conceptual preoccupations: the absence of the human body, the transformation of mundane matter into art, and the inherent absurdity that underlies human identity and physical form.
Erwin Wurm graduated from University of Graz, Austria, in 1977, and University of Applied Art and Academy of Fine Art, Vienna in 1982. Recent solo exhibitions at international institutions include Albertina Modern, Vienna (2025); Fosun Foundation, Shanghai (2024); Biblioteca Marciana, Venice, Italy (2024); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK (2023); Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2023); SCAD Museum, Savannah, US (2023); Suwon Museum of Art, Suwon, Korea (2022); Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice, Italy (2022); Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, Serbia (2022), MAK, Vienna, Austria (2021); Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei City, Taiwan (2020). In 2017, Wurm represented Austria at the 57th Venice Biennale.
