La forma del absurdo Erwin Wurm in conversation with Ana Rodríguez Frías

The Austrian celebrates his 70th birthday with a retrospective at the Albertina Modern in Vienna, which will reveal the coherence of his work.

The artist Erwin Wurm describes the preparation of this retrospective, open from 13 September to 23 February in Vienna, as ‘exciting’. He has immersed himself in his archives to recover, from the very beginning, his works and various explorations, with the help of his studio, his wife Élise and his son Michael.

What are your expectations about your retrospective at ALBERTINA MODERN? 

It would be great if I could show that the different parts of my work from different times follow a red line and make it visible to the public that all the different works are connected. There are two main themes, let’s say ‘red lines’, that run through my work. It’s on the one side, the research on the notion of sculpture and on the other side, the relation between art and themes of our time and  society.

What do you want to provoke in the viewers who will visit your retrospective?

With my work, I try to view our time and our world from the perspective of the absurd and the paradox. I believe that, looking from that point of view at our world, we are able to see a different or hidden reality.