Erwin Wurm

Erwin Wurm was born in 1954 in Bruck an der Mur, Styria, Austria. From 1974 to 1977 he studied art history, German language and literature, and history teaching at the University of Graz. From 1977 to 1979 he studied art and work education and sculpture with Ruedi Arnold at the Mozarteum (formerly: Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst "Mozarteum" in Salzburg) in Salzburg. From 1979 to 1982 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna and in parallel at the University (then College) of Applied Arts, Vienna with Bazon Brock. From 2002 to 2006 he held a professorship at the Institute for Art and Cultural Studies/Art Education and from 2007 to 2010 for Sculpture/Plastics and Multimedia at the Institute for Visual and Media Arts at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Erwin Wurm is one of Austria's most internationally renowned and successful contemporary artists. Since the early 1980s, the artist has participated internationally in numerous group and major events. In 2011 he represented Austria at the 54th Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy. Solo exhibitions were dedicated to him by internationally renowned art and cultural institutions. His works can be found in Austria and internationally worldwide in important public and private collections. https://www.erwinwurm.at/biography/solo-exhibitions.html
The Generali Foundation Collection - Permanent Loan to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg owns early and seminal works by the artist from the 1980s.
The artist has received numerous awards. In 1984 he won the Otto Mauer Prize. In 1993 he was awarded the Prize of the City of Vienna for Visual Arts and in 2004 the Art Prize of the City of Graz. In 2013 he received the Grand Austrian State Prize. In 2015 he was awarded the Würdigungspreis of the Province of Styria for Visual Arts and the Silver Commander's Cross of the Province of Lower Austria. Erwin Wurm lives and works in Vienna and Limberg, Lower Austria.