Thomas Schütte *

(born in Oldenburg in 1954)
Vater Staat, 2007, monogrammed and stamped T. S., bronze, patinated, no. 6 from the edition of 6 (+3 a. p.), 49 x 20 x 12.7 cm, on steel base 120 x 30 x 30 cm, with foundry mark Kayser, Dusseldorf
The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, Galerie Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, September 10, 2020

Provenance:
Donald Young Gallery, Chicago
Private Collection, Germany (acquired from the above in 2010)

Thomas Schütte ranks among the most influential artistic figures of the present day. Since the 1980s, he has developed an oeuvre that is at once highly individual and markedly heterogeneous, deliberately eluding conventional categorisation. With an impressive range, from drawing and watercolour to architectural models and monumental sculpture, the artist reflects upon central political and existential questions of contemporary society, maintaining a sovereign balance between formal rigour and emotional depth.

Schütte’s satirical approach to figurative sculpture took shape in 1992, prompted by a year-long stay in the Italian capital, famously encircled by heroic statuary of classical antiquity. At the same time, the country was undergoing significant political upheaval, and many prominent figures from civil society and politics, including heads of state, were publicly discredited. This contrast—between the emperor portraits cast in stone and the lived realities of contemporary society—gave rise in his work to a new sculptural language and to a series of sculptures imbued with a provocative, albeit poetic, anti-heroism, particularly evident in series such as 'United Enemies' and 'Innocenti'.

'Vater Staat' (Father State), a series produced between 2007 and 2010 and ranging in scale from small-format figures to monumental versions (such as that installed on the terrace of the Neue Nationalgalerie) bears an equally significant title. Asked about the title, the artist remarked: “Unfortunately, one still has to give things a name; some artists simply assign numbers. […] For me, the name is almost always just a joke; names are labels, they are not especially important. In the model, Vater Staat resembled our finance minister; I could hardly call it Schäuble Standing, but everyone was satisfied with Vater Staat.” If the title already resists logical interpretation, might conclusions at least be drawn from the voluminous clothing and the absence of sleeves?

“There are many examples in art history in which a man stands in this way, essentially just a little cloak with a face inside; when one sees the originals, it is not at all ineffective.” In another interview he adds: “I put the cap on so that I wouldn’t have to deal with the problem of hair. After all, three quarters of a human head consists of hairstyle, yet it is almost impossible to draw or model hair.”

Of his sculptures, the artist has said: “There are figures that are exclamation marks—and there are figures that are question marks.” Which is which, he leaves unsaid. For the viewer, this proves both disconcerting and compelling, not least because one is prompted, consciously and unconsciously, to seek meaning: the artist’s intention behind the work, formal precedents, or possible socio-critical and philosophical interpretations. Yet in Schütte’s work one is repeatedly referred back to the object itself. The answer resides only in direct engagement with the work.

Schütte’s artistic practice encompasses a wide range of techniques and materials, attesting to an unceasing spirit of experimentation and sustained curiosity. He frequently works in series to which he repeatedly returns; his oeuvre resists categorisation and defies any linear logic of development. The artist is deeply engaged with the parameters of proximity and distance, monumentality and intimacy, hard and soft materials, as well as with modes of presentation and staging and their respective effects upon the viewer; outdoors, additionally, their impact upon passers-by and the surrounding environment. “I prefer to speak with my hands and through forms, allowing these creatures to develop a life and stories of their own. It is important to me to avoid fixed positions, not to be overly classical or predictable … It is important that the works lead to essential questions” (Thomas Schütte, quoted in “Interview with Julian Lingwood”, Thomas Schütte, London 1998, p. 22).

Thomas Schütte combines an observant, almost anthropological gaze with a masterly understanding of the expressive potential of material and scale, thereby creating works that invite a reassessment not only of traditional artistic genres, but also of the many subtleties of human existence.