Thomas Schütte at Fondation Beyeler
Artist: Thomas Schütte
Venue: Fondation Beyeler, Riehen
Date: October 6 – February 2, 2014
Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.
Images:
- Mann im Matsch mit Nägeln (Modell 1:10), 2009 Patinated bronze Fratelli, 2012 Patinated bronze, steel at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- Aluminiumfrau Nr. 12, 2009 Lacquer on aluminium, steel Aluminiumfrau Nr. 17, 2009 Polished aluminium, steel Aluminiumfrau Nr. 7, 2001 Polished aluminium, steel Aluminiumfrau Nr. 11, 2002 Polished aluminium, steel at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- Aluminiumfrau Nr. 12, 2009 Lacquer on aluminium, steel Aluminiumfrau Nr. 17, 2009 Polished aluminium, steel Aluminiumfrau Nr. 7, 2001 Polished aluminium, steel Aluminiumfrau Nr. 11, 2002 Polished aluminium, steel at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- Aluminiumfrau Nr. 12, 2009 Lacquer on aluminium, steel Aluminiumfrau Nr. 8, 2002 Lacquer on aluminium, steel at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- Gelber Hund, 2003 Glazed ceramic Private collection, Switzerland Selbstportrait, 1975 Oil on canvas at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- United Enemies, 2011 Patinated bronze at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- Wichte, 2006 Patinated bronze, steel at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- United Enemies, 1993 Plasticine, cloth, wood, glass and PVC De Pont, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tilburg Luise, 1996 Ink on paper 30 sheets from the series at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, 2013 © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich Photo: Serge Hasenböhler
- Vater Staat (Father State), 2010 Patinated bronze, 373 x 155 x 110 cm © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Nic Tenwiggenhorn
- Bronzefrau Nr. 17 (Bronze Woman No. 17), 2003 Patinated bronze, 202 x 125 x 250 cm © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Nic Tenwiggenhorn
- Walser’s Wife, 2011 Lacquer on aluminium, 65 x 38 x 54 cm © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Luise Heuter
- Me Memorial, 2007–2009 Glazed ceramic, 21 x 26 x 55 cm © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Nic Tenwiggenhorn
- United Enemies, 2011 (detail) Patinated bronze © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Nic Tenwiggenhorn
- Innocenti (The Innocents), 1994 B/w photograph, 75 x 50 cm © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Thomas Schütte
- Selbstportrait (Self-portrait), 1975 oil on canvas, 60 x 45 cm © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Thomas Schütte
- Blumen für Konrad (Flowers for Konrad), 1998 ink on paper, 39 x 29 cm © 2013, ProLitteris, Zurich, Photo: Nic Tenwiggenhorn
Images courtesy of Fondation Beyeler, Riehen.
Press Release:
For three decades now, Thomas Schütte has developed an oeuvre of great consistency, though diverse in terms of form and content: reflected and sensuous, occasionally complex, poetic and full of humor, always a bit subversive but never injurious. Today he is among the contemporary artists of international renown.
Since the 1980s Schütte has become known especially for objects and models of an architectural character. It has only gradually become apparent that, in parallel with these, an equally rich range of sculptures and drawings has emerged revolving around the human body.
It is this aspect of the oeuvre to which the Fondation Beyeler exhibition is devoted. It shows Schütte to be one of the most fascinating artists of his generation. He takes up the tradition of figurative sculpture and develops figures and heads whose direct appeal and manner of execution make them definitely of today. Whether hand-sized ceramic pieces or four-meter- high iron sculptures, Schütte’s figures and heads are in a strange way both alien and familiar, opposite numbers capable of moving us profoundly.
The masterful interplay of large and small, monumentality and intimacy, has for many years now brought Schütte’s pieces into the public space, where they are visible to all, whether visitors or casual passersby. Outoor sculptures will be featured in the show as well, continuing a Fondation Beyeler tradition.
Drawing also runs like an open path through the artist’s oeuvre. The watercolors and drawings, whose sketchiness and occasionally dreamlike beauty have the effect of divorcing them from the material gravity of the sculptures, impressively demonstrate the ease with which Schütte changes media while continuing his investigation into a deeper understanding of being human. The exhibition will include several series of drawings which are central to the artist’s theme of the human body.
Born in 1954 in Oldenburg, Germany, Schütte lives and works in Düsseldorf, where he attended the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1973-1981. Schütte has received many distinguished awards, including the Golden Lion for his presentation at the 2005 Venice Biennale. The important shows of recent years include exhibitions at the Reina Sofia in Madrid (2010) and at the Haus der Kunst in Munich (2009). Exhibition curator is Theodora Vischer, Senior Curator at the Fondation Beyeler.