Erwin Wurm: Performative Sculptures

With the Performative Sculptures, Erwin Wurm gets his hands dirty, attacking models or raw blocks of clay and deforming them by either physical exertion alone or other external means. Afterwards, the artist often casts the abused models in either bronze, aluminium, iron or polyester resin, and then paints them either in color or with an applied patina. Tension arises in the dialogue between the original form of objects and the traces left by the performative interventions, which turn the body into the material and the medium of action.
These works were comprehensively presented at the 21er Haus in 2017 for the first time. A majority of the 54 performative sculptures and statues have been developed especially for this exhibition. This catalog provides comprehensive insight into the cycle of works and analyses them against within the context of his artistic development.