Ordinary Talks with Erwin Wurm Artist interview

It seems Erwin Wurm no longer needs an introduction. Having reshaped the way we perceive sculpture today, his work exists in a space in between the absurd and the existential, catharsis and embarrassment, the narrow and the inflated, the quiet and the loud, the ephemeral and the timeless.

What makes his artworks so instantly recognisable is undoubtedly a genuinely human approach to art. His work is not created with a fixed purpose in mind; it is meant to be experienced, observed, and ultimately inhabited—until we ourselves become part of it, left wondering: Who am I? What am I doing?

We met in person during the 61st Venice Biennale at Museo Fortuny—a 15th-century palazzo—where his new exhibition,Dreamers, is on display amidst Mariano Fortuny’s dresses, draped fabrics, and soulful, crumbling walls.

Camille Sei

It’s an honour to meet you today. You were actually one of my very first inspirations as an art student at École Duperré. Perhaps we could begin with a few words about the exhibition. Why the title Dreamers?

Erwin Wurm

When I received the invitation to create a show here, I started walking around the palazzo. I already knew the house, and I always felt it was somehow like a dreamland. Not reality exactly — or perhaps something outside reality. I liked that very much. I had already made works using pillows and cushions. And, of course, I come from Vienna, so there’s a link to Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis, and dreams. The title came quite naturally, by itself.

CS

There is a great dialogue between your work and Mariano Fortuny’s. Obviously, there is the presence and absence of the body, and these garments that feel highly sculptural. There is also the fact that Fortuny was a very broad-minded, eclectic artist — much like yourself. You do not rely on a single medium or one particular way of expressing yourself.

EW

That is true. My work is based on two central ideas. The first is the notion of sculpture: what is it, and what does it mean? The second concerns social issues and social content, because an artist who is cut off from society is nothing. Art must carry a certain meaning within society, and my work engages with issues drawn from our everyday world. I am not dealing with the great existential questions, such as, “Where do we come from, and where are we going?” Rather, I focus on questions like, “What will I wear tomorrow?” or “What will I eat?” I’m joking, of course, but what truly matters to me is looking at our world through the lens of the absurd. This perspective allows us to see things differently and to discover something new.