Erwin Wurm’s Fat House

The solo exhibition at the 21er Haus, Vienna, comprises upwards of 40 sculptures and new works by Erwin Wurm, while the Upper Belvedere hosts one of his famous fat houses.

Erwin Wurm, Fat House, 2003. © Belvedere, Vienna. Photo: Johannes Stoll / © Bildrecht, Vienna, 2017

The Belvedere has been documenting the renowned Erwin Wurm’s work in preparation for the Biennale and the 21er Haus shows his statues and performative sculptures. To kick things off, visitors has been greeted by Wurm’s Fat House on the Upper Belvedere.

Erwin Wurm has been exploring the expressive possibilities of sculpture for over 35 years. As profound as it is ironic, his multifaceted body of work encompasses nearly all genres and extends the concept of sculpture via its interactive, social and temporal aspects. With his Fat Sculptures – “fatty” middle-class status symbols like cars or single-family homes – the sculptor delivers snappy and striking commentary on today’s consumer society.

Img.1 Exhibition view “Erwin Wurm - Performative Sculptures”. © Belvedere, Vienna, 2017. Photo Johannes Stoll

The southern end of the Upper Belvedere hosts one of Erwin Wurm’s famous fat houses (Fat House, 2003), which was acquired for the Belvedere collection in 2016. The obese house contains a video projection in which the very same swollen building argues with itself and poses existential questions to the incoming visitor, such as: “When does a house become art and who determines that?” The sculpture, accessible in the Belvedere’s garden, presents a taste of Wurm’s contribution to the Venice Biennale as well as of the exhibition “Erwin Wurm – Performative Sculptures” which will be on display in the nearby 21er Haus until 10 September 2017.

The solo exhibition at the 21er Haus comprises upwards of 40 performative sculptures and statues, including a series of new works that Wurm developed especially for the show. In his most recent work, he examines extraordinary examples of architecture and objects of daily use. The starting point is represented by models and blocks of clay, which are usually processed by Wurm himself or other people whom he instructs. Tension arises in the dialogue between the original form of objects and the traces left by the performative interventions, turning the body into the material and the medium of action. In the exhibition, the works of clay are juxtaposed with castings made of bronze, aluminium, iron or polyester resin. The exhibition is curated by Severin Dünser and Alfred Weidinger.

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Img.3 Erwin Wurm, Fat House, 2003. © Belvedere, Vienna. Photo: Johannes Stoll / © Bildrecht, Vienna, 2017

Img.4 Erwin Wurm, Fat House, 2003. © Belvedere, Vienna. Photo: Johannes Stoll / © Bildrecht, Vienna, 2017

Img.5 Erwin Wurm, Fat House, 2003. © Belvedere, Vienna. Photo: Johannes Stoll / © Bildrecht, Vienna, 2017

Img.6 Erwin Wurm, Fat House, 2003. © Belvedere, Vienna. Photo: Johannes Stoll / © Bildrecht, Vienna, 2017

Img.7 Left: Erwin Wurm, Diverge, 2012. Courtesy of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. © Belvedere, Vienna. Photo Johannes Stoll. © Bildrecht, Vienna, 2017. Right: Exhibition view “Erwin Wurm - Performative Sculptures”. © Belvedere, Vienna, 2017. Photo Johannes Stoll

Img.8 Exhibition view “Erwin Wurm - Performative Sculptures”. © Belvedere, Vienna, 2017. Photo Johannes Stoll

Img.9 Exhibition view “Erwin Wurm - Performative Sculptures”. © Belvedere, Vienna, 2017. Photo Johannes Stoll

Belvedere’s curator Alfred Weidinger followed Erwin Wurm and Brigitte Kowanz with his camera during their preparations for the Venice Biennale – from the initial ideas to the project’s implementation. The resulting documentary film and artist portraits will be shown for the first time at the Biennale in May 2017, and can also be seen during the Erwin Wurm exhibition at the 21er Haus. These open new ways for the audience to approach the works of these two representatives of contemporary Austrian art.

until 10 September 2017
Erwin Wurm
21er Haus, Museum of Contemporary Art
Arsenalstraße 1, Vienna

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