Erwin Wurm & Issey Miyake: all the possibilities in between presence and absence

By Valentina Gioia Levy

Erwin Wurm’s artistic practice has long been defined by a relentless questioning of the very nature of sculpture. His work traverses formal concerns as well as issues of interaction with the sculptural object, expanding the definition of sculpture itself. From his earliest experiments, Wurm has sought to explore the "degree zero" of sculpture, interrogating notions of materiality, presence, and absence.

Central to Wurm’s research is the concept of absence—an idea that finds expression in various bodies of work, including his series of sculptures dedicated to dust. Here, dust serves as a trace of an unseen presence, a residue that suggests existence without revealing it. A similar principle underpins Wurm’s early works centered on garments. The presence of clothing implies the existence of a body, yet this body remains unseen, an absence that paradoxically amplifies its latent potential for presence and life.

Erwin Wurm, Melancholia (Substitutes), 2024

Aluminium, paint

158 x 62 x 28 cm (62.20 x 24.40 x 11.02 in)

Thaddaeus Ropac

Over time, Wurm has expanded his exploration of interaction, particularly through clothing, investigating how garments act as mediators between the body and the external world. Wurm's sculptures, unsettling presences frozen in improbable poses, evoked a sense of both tension and playfulness, challenging conventional notions of the body in space. These fleeting yet powerful forms suggested the infinite possibilities of being—how we move, how we exist, and how our physical presence can be reshaped through interaction, balance, and distortion. In their absurdity, they revealed deeper truths about identity, perception, and the fluidity of form, turning the everyday into an unexpected site of transformation.

This conceptual inquiry set the stage for his collaboration with the legendary fashion designer Issey Miyake, a visionary who has similarly interrogated the relationship between form, void, and movement.

The unprecedented dialogue between Wurm and Miyake bridges contemporary sculpture and fashion, two disciplines that often intersect but rarely intertwine so explicitly. Miyake’s approach to clothing has always been sculptural—his mastery of pleating, folding, and draping transforms fabric into dynamic, living structures that transcend mere utility. Likewise, Wurm’s work with the human form—most notably in his One Minute Sculptures—invites viewers to engage with sculpture in a way that is fluid, temporary, and performative.

Their collaboration culminated in a striking event at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, where Miyake’s runway show incorporated Wurm’s One Minute Sculptures. These ephemeral sculptures, which rely on the spontaneous participation of performers or audience members, seamlessly blended into the world of fashion, underscoring the performative nature of both disciplines. The garments became not just items of clothing but dynamic sculptural forms, activated through movement and gesture.

Erwin Wurm, One Minute Sculptures series at Issey Miyake’s show Fall/Winter 2025 [N]either [N]or

At the heart of this collaboration lies a shared fascination with the tension between full and empty, form and formlessness, presence and void. Wurm and Miyake both challenge traditional hierarchies, rejecting static notions of what constitutes art or fashion. By integrating Wurm’s sculptural provocations into a high-fashion context, Miyake reinforced the idea that clothing is more than a second skin—it is a space of transformation, of interaction, of dialogue between body and world.

As the audience at the Carrousel du Louvre witnessed, this was no conventional fashion show but a performative event where the boundaries between fashion and contemporary art dissolved. The garments were not merely worn but inhabited, animated by movement, and shaped by the presence—or absence—of the body.

In this moment of creative convergence, Wurm and Miyake offered a powerful meditation on the fluidity of identity, the sculptural potential of clothing, and the ever-evolving dialogue between art and life. Their collaboration reaffirms that sculpture is not just a matter of static forms, just as fashion is not merely about fabric—it is about movement, transformation, and the infinite possibilities that emerge in the space between presence and absence.

Erwin Wurm, One Minute Sculptures series at Issey Miyake’s show Fall/Winter 2025

[N]either [N]or