Erwin Wurm

Wurm, with an assistant, fabricates all but the largest works in the studio space on the grounds of his home in Limberg.

"An hour from bustling Vienna, Erwin Wurm’s home and studio sit in the scenic Austrian countryside, behind a locked gate and down a gravel path lined with young elms that give way to topiaries trimmed into perfect cubes. Only when one peers out from the allée does it become apparent that this is no ordinary schloss. On one side of the lawn stands a headless figure in a pastel-pink suit. Opposite him, a giant pickle perches on a pedestal.
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Wurm’s own primary residence dates from the 12th century. He shares the art-filled space with his wife, graphic designer Elise Mougin, and their toddler daughter (he has two older sons from a previous marriage) and dog. The lushly landscaped grounds — ample enough for him to keep sheep and a couple of horses — are bordered on one side by a sudden swell of land. “That’s artificial,” says Wurm with a chuckle, pointing to the man-made, vista-perfecting ridge before heading to the outbuildings that house his workshop and a suite of storage spaces.

Most fabrication at the studio takes place during the warmer months. (The onset of colder weather and shorter days sends the family traveling abroad or spending time in Vienna, where they have another home, and where Wurm can conceive work and plan exhibitions in his office space.) “For a typical day at the studio I get up at half past seven or eight, and then I’m in the studio by nine, trying to make decisions, trying to think things over, but always things that I have prepared in some ways before in my head.” He may work with as many as six studio assistants on large projects. For monumental sculptures, such as the warped sailboat that was recently mounted atop Vienna’s Daniel hotel, he’ll call in a local team of fabricators. A lunch break is the only interruption, after which he returns to work until evening. “At that point, I’m desperate and exhausted,” says Wurm. “And then I go and swim.”
...." (bron: blouinartinfo, foto's: Elsa Okazaki)


An assistant in the studio.


Sketches tacked up in his studio.


Wurm’s Obama chocolate figures from 2013.


The living room, with his ‘‘Knitted Wall Pullover,’’ ‘‘Strick’’ chairs, both from 2011, as well as a sculpture, ‘‘Psycho 7,’’ 2010.


In a study, the artist mixes his own pieces, like the figure ‘‘Telekinetischer Masturbator,’’ 2009 (above), with works like Andy Warhol’s ‘‘Karen Lerner,’’ from the 1970s, a small Alighiero Boetti collage from the 1980s, and a Gerrit Rietveld Zig-Zag chair.


A Renaissance-era sculpture and an original painted door from the same period in one of Wurm’s studies


The artist Erwin Wurm’s Austrian (home and studio) estate features a 12th-century castle, a flock of Zackel sheep as well as one of his own pieces, ‘‘Fat House,’’ 2003.

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These days, Wurm lives on a rather impressive spread in a small village 40 minutes northwest of Vienna. Schloss Limberg’s centerpiece is a 12th-century manse surrounded by a cluster of barns and stables that Wurm has transformed into studios and offices for his work and his team of about a half-dozen assistants. “I added that hill over there,” Wurm says. He points to a green mound that rises behind his “Fat House,” a marshmallow-like structure where his flock of sheep takes refuge during the colder months.
...." (bron: The New York Times, foto's: Andrew Moore)

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