erwin wurm personifies everyday objects at yorkshire sculpture park

trap of truth: erwin wurm arrives in the uk

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm is set to present ‘Trap of the Truth,’ his first museum exhibition in the United Kingdom at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The exhibition, which opens to the public on Saturday June 10th, 2023, will showcase over one hundred works spanning thirty years of the artist’s career. The collection will include fifty-five indoor sculptures, nineteen outdoor sculptures, as well as paintings, photographs, videos, and drawings. Some of the works will be displayed for the first time. Erwin Wurm is highly regarded for his 2017 Austrian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Erwin Wurm, Ship of Fools, 2017. Photo © Eva Würdinger. © Studio Erwin Wurm, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

humor and reflection through sculpture

Soon to exhibit at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, artist Erwin Wurm has for more than thirty years explored the limits of the human body and its relationship with the spaces we occupy. Through his work, the artist aims to disrupt the familiar and expected, often infusing humor and experimentation into his work by giving human characteristics to everyday objects. The exhibition’s title ‘Trap of the Truth’ introduces the viewer to Wurm’s philosophical reflections, which is inspired by the 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes. Descartes aimed to examine the subjectivity of truth, his thoughts encapsulated in the famous phrase ‘I think, therefore I am.’

Erwin Wurm, Big Kastenmann, 2012. © Studio Erwin Wurm, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

the yorkshire sculpture park exhibition

Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s outdoor ‘heritage landscape’ will feature nineteen sculptures, some of which have never been seen before. Among them are three pieces from Wurm’s ‘Bags’ series, which explore objects of status and consumer culture. One of these sculptures, called ‘Big Step’ (2021), is five meters tall and pastel blue, and is designed to resemble the Hermès Birkin bag — a contemporary symbol of prestige and wealth. The personified sculpture has long, elegant legs that appear to be walking purposefully. The other two sculptures in the series are ‘Dance’ (2021) and ‘Trip’ (2021), which are designed to resemble a briefcase and suitcase respectively. Like ‘Big Step,’ they feature long, dynamic legs that give the impression of human life within the landscape.

The Underground Gallery showcases more than fifty sculptures that reveal the intricacies of Wurm’s art, in addition to sixty two-dimensional pieces that showcase the artist’s extensive drawing skills using pen, crayon, and watercolor.

Erwin Wurm, Big Kastenmann, 2012. © Studio Erwin Wurm, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Erwin Wurm, Big Mutter, 2015. © Studio Erwin Wurm, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Erwin Wurm, Ship of Fools, 2017. © Studio Erwin Wurm, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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Erwin Wurm, 'Consideration,' 2021. Photo © Ulrich Ghezzi. Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London Paris Salzburg. © Studio Erwin Wurm, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn