Erwin Wurm, born in 1954 in Bruck/Mur (Austria), read art history and German studies at Graz University from 1974-1977, and art and crafts (sculpture) at the College of Visual Arts in Salzburg from 1977-1979. From 1979-1981, he continued to study sculpture at the College for Applied Arts in Vienna, followed by design at the College of Fine Arts in Vienna until 1982. In 1995, Wurm was visiting professor for sculpture at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, and from 1996-1997 visiting professor for sculpture at the College for Industrial and Artistic Design in Linz. From 1993-1999, the artist has been a member of the board of the Vienna Secession, and from 1995 its vice president. Erwin Wurm has been the curator of numerous exhibitions, and he now lives in Vienna and New York.

Erwin Wurm's early artistic works are painted figures sculpted of wood or tin. Inspired by experiments about the effect of sculptural form, he transforms everyday objects into minimalist shapes by covering them in a thin layer of tin. By the end of the eighties, this development results in the abstraction of the sculpture and the defunctionalisation of the form. He further expands his concept of sculpture by subjecting items of clothing to this process of dissolution and dematerialisation and resolving the contrast of static sculpture and movement. This expansion of sculptural thought leads to the first performances. With logical consistence, he employs the medium of video, defining movement and action as sculpture, that is, performance sculpture. In the 1990s, his performances develop into video representations.

Videos

Still I, 1990
Fabio is Getting Dressed (entire wardrobe), 1992
59 Postures, 1992
Face (1000 portraits), 1994
One Minute Sculpture, 1997/98