Erwin Wurm (UN)DEFINED. Sculptural Works from the Liaunig Collection
Curator Alexandra Schantl focuses on the question of what sculpture means today, given that the concept has undergone a fundamental transformation since the 1960s. Ever since Marcel Duchamp’s readymades and Rosalind E. Krauss’s theoretical reflections, sculpture has been regarded as an open field that has long since ceased to encompass merely classical three-dimensional objects, but now includes a wide variety of materials, media and forms of expression.
The exhibition approaches this expanded understanding of sculpture from a historical-developmental perspective and presents over 200 works – sculptures, plastic arts, objects, whilst also taking into account the two-dimensional arts, particularly drawing – by around 100 artists.
The exhibition opens with key figures in Austrian sculpture since 1945, including Fritz Wotruba and artists from his circle who engaged intensively with the human figure. This focus is complemented in the northern half of the hall by works that expand upon, question or explore entirely new formal approaches to the figurative. As the exhibition progresses, influential individual positions and innovative approaches enter into dialogue: from body-related works and participatory concepts to sculptural models of thought. The intersections with architecture, performance and photography are also explored, thereby highlighting the complexity of the concept. The southern section of the exhibition focuses more strongly on material and the dissolution of classical genre boundaries. Language is translated into space, textile works open up new perspectives on everyday materials, and paper, wood and industrial materials are transformed in surprising ways. This gives rise to works that oscillate between sculpture, painting and drawing, or deliberatel subvert these categories. In the concluding section, the focus shifts to the immaterial: lines, shadows, reflections and voids redefine the sculptural here and point to its illusionistic and conceptual potential.
