PRESENTATION: Erwin Wurm-Dream

Erwin Wurm came to prominence with his “One Minute Sculptures”, a project that he began in 1996/1997. In these works, Wurm gives written or drawn instructions to participants that indicate actions or poses to perform with everyday objects such as chairs, buckets, fruit, or knit sweaters. These sculptures are by nature ephemeral, and by incorporating photography and performance into the process Wurm challenges the formal qualities of the medium as well as the boundaries between performance and daily life and spectator and participant.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Lehmann Maupin Gallery Archive

Erwin Wurm presents “Dream”, an exhibition of new and recent works. Best known for his sculptures, which include human-sized pickles, a house compressed to just one meter wide, and his iconic, participatory “One Minute Sculptures”, Wurm has examined the fundamental tenets of the medium for over 25 years. Confronting expectations about what sculpture can or should be, the artist explores intriguing new possibilities for the medium through investigations into volume, mass, surface, colour, and time. His latest exhibition with Lehmann Maupin brings together work from many notable series, including his bronze sausages and anthropomorphised handbags, as well as new “Skins” sculptures and “Flat Sculptures” paintings. Wurm’s “Flat Sculptures”, which he began in 2021, marks the latest evolution in the artist’s experiments with sculpture’s formal qualities. In this series Wurm takes the idea of flattening volume to an extreme, creating “flat sculptures” with paint on canvas. For each composition he selects a single word relating to other series or sculptural concerns (such as ‘brot,’ ‘weight,’ or ‘mold’) and expands it to fill the entire picture plane, ballooning and distorting the text almost past recognition. Rendered in pastel pink, light blue, or electric chartreuse—all signature colours in Wurm’s palette—the paintings navigate a narrow border between representation and abstraction, reflecting Wurm’s recent interest in moving away from figuration. Also part of this exhibition are the artist’s new “Skins” sculptures, which further evince his growing commitment to abstraction. Cast from aluminium and painted stark white, these works visualise slivers from an imagined figure, often spotlighting a specific gesture or pose. In “Bending Left”, a bare foot can be made out at the base of the plinth, along with a portion of blue jeans and a back pocket. Further up, the work dissolves, twisting as if blown by the wind before resolving itself into an outstretched hand. Throughout the “Skins” series, as recognisable elements disintegrate into unrecognisable ones, the human figure seems ever present, if invisible. Here, Wurm plays on the classic image of the sculptor drawing form out of a block of raw stone, seeming to draw his Skins directly from the ether. The exhibition also features new work from other series, including Wurm’s “Bag Sculptures” and “Abstract Sculptures”. Wurm’s handbag series reflects the artist’s belief that objects are often extensions of their owners and used to project personal identity. Here, the designer handbags—which often serve as symbols of sophistication, wealth, and social status—are given legs and set in motion. Wurm’s sausage works, in which bronze sausages are given arms, legs, and feet, are similarly anthropomorphised and seemingly imbued with human emotion, creating a precarious line between person- and objecthood. Across the exhibition, Wurm continues his experiments with the principles of sculpture, pushing into new formal and conceptual territories.

Photo: Erwin Wurm, Dream (2023). Aluminum cast. 100 x 49 x 70 cm, © Erwin Wurm,  Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London

Info: Lehmann Maupin Gallery, 213 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea, Duration: 11/5-24/6/2023, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.lehmannmaupin.com/