Tomio Koyama

Erwin Wurm

04 - 25 Oct 2008

© Installation view
ERWIN WURM
"Ich - Es - Überich"

Erwin Wurm is an artist who would drastically change our concept of what the "sculptures" could represent. A series that started in the 90's, the most representative among his repertoire, the "One Minute Sculpture" transforms the subjects being photographed, or the viewer he himself who came to see the show, into a sculptural artwork for a minute posing awkwardly according to the artist's intentions. Says the artist: "the fundamental steps consisted in abandoning the ideas of durability and infinity. Sculpture could also last for just a few minutes, a few seconds. The works were transported to the level of the immediate present."(Erwin Wurm "The artist who swallowed the world" Hatje Cantz)
Human torso bloated like a balloon. Human figure transformed into a solid block wearing very tight clothes. Or vegetables grow human arms and legs. You would also find cars and buildings in his works, some swelled up or melted down, presenting very strange textures. It could be said that, these odd at the first sight models are "object" created as a result of an intellectual and precise work, something disassembled and deconstructed by the artist's vision that could make believe anything could be a sculpture, while it is filled with sense of humor that anyone could understand.
 

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