Untitled Erwin Wurm

Erwin Wurm is the defining figure of the generation of Austrian artists who emerged in the 1980s. The recurring motifs of his sculptures are everyday objects – buildings, cars, houses, pieces of clothing, or furniture – that have been distorted, shrunk, or blown-up in size, and placed into unexpected contexts. Wurm’s art is characterised by humour, irony, and an affinity for grotesque situations. He devised his own unique form of art, which he calls the “one-minute sculptures”. Ordinary people follow the artist’s instructions in assuming a pose, which they hold for one minute, becoming statues, and questioning our entire conventional understanding of what an artwork is. This work, Untitled, belongs to the artist’s early works and is part of a larger series whose central motif is the pullover. The red pullover, deformed by being “pulled over” a cylinder, is shown divested of its original function as an item of clothing, playfully placed under a glass dome and turned into a museum object. This recalls the spirit of Dada, and presages further works by the artist which also feature pullovers.