The German artist Thomas Schütte (b. 1954) is best known for sculptures that tip the human form into the realm of the grotesque and the satirical. Examples include United Enemies, a series of deformed clay models he began making in 1992, and Vater Staat (2010), a large bronze sculpture of what looks like an unspecified authoritarian ruler whose body is constrained by a comically tight robe. Schütte studied under Gerhard Richter and in the early part of his career mounted sustained critiques of minimalism and conceptual art, preferring to make work that addressed, directly or indirectly, cultural and social history. This retrospective in Düsseldorf, where the artist lives, includes many of the sculptures that made his name but also takes in watercolours, ceramics, textiles and architectural models, reminding us that, as he once said, ‘I’m really only interested in spaces. The sculptures are the protagonists. They stand there, have a life of their own – hopefully – and have their own aura’ (14 November–11 April 2027).
Find out more from the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen’s website.
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