Erwin Wurm | Half Big Suit | 2016 

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm works between the art world categories of sculpture and performance, fine art photography and documentation, between comedy and tragedy. He is best known for his One Minute Sculptures, begun in 1996, a set of objects (clothing, furniture, fruit) with simple instructions for audience interaction. While the actions themselves are more absurd than transformative, it is that gap—between meaningful gesture and futile act—that is at the heart of Wurm’s work. There is a melancholy to his familiar and hopeful objects, the artist encouraging us to still find value in the play of the everyday. 

Wurm also transforms real-world objects into monuments for the 21st century. In Half Big Suit, Wurm presents the ubiquitous business suit of the modern global economy—softened by pale pink pastel paint. This work shows cut-throat business culture transformed by the diversity of the work force and a new embrace of a work-life balance characterized by a relaxed environment. Wurm’s Half Big Suit up-ends the traditional subjects of monuments—kings and generals—and celebrates instead everyone who shapes and populates our community.