Thomas Schütte makes evocative, often disturbing alterations to familiar forms of expression like memorial portraiture and figurative sculpture. His work explores the human condition, offering a critical perspective on social, cultural, and political issues and visually eloquent commentary on memory, loss, and the difficulty of memorializing the past.
He received among others the Golden Lion, 51st Venice Biennale in 2005 and the Arnold-Bode-Prize, documenta, Kassel in 1990. He was part of the 5th edition of Skulptur Projekte Münster 2017. Upcoming exhibitions include a retrospective at MoMA, New York. His work has been the subject of extensive solo exhibitions internationally, including Monnaie de Paris, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Serpentine Gallery, London; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and DIA Center for the Arts, New York. He has participated in Glasstress, Venezia; bb4 – 4th berlin biennial for contemporary art; 51st Venice Biennale; documenta X, Kassel; documenta IX, Kassel; and documenta VIII, Kassel, as well as group exhibitions at Deichtorhallen, Hamburg; Museum der Moderne Salzburg; Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin; LACMA, Los Angeles; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; MCA, Chicago; and Centre Pompidou, Paris, among many others. In 2016 the Skulpturenhalle of the Thomas Schütte Stiftung, the largest and most ambitious realisation of an architectural design by Thomas Schütte, opened its doors in Neuss. The space serves as an archive for Schütte’s work and as an exhibition venue for other contemporary sculpturers.
Selected Works
Thomas Schütte
Großer Frauenkopf, D, 2021
Glazed ceramic
107 × 72 × 94 cm
Thomas Schütte
Glass: Me (Nr. 23), 2018
Murano glass
20 × 47 × 27 cm
Thomas Schütte
Old Friends Revisited, 7 scenes, 2021
inkjet pigment print on Tecco PM 230 Matt paper
70 × 95 cm
Edition of 35 + 5 AP
Thomas Schütte
12 portraits, 2009
Kaltnadel, Ätzung und Carborundum gedruckt auf farbigem Grund
90 × 70 cm
Edition of 35 + 5 AP
Thomas Schütte
Gartenzwerge (Glas) 3, 2017
Glass, 7 pieces
variable dimensions
Thomas Schütte
Woodcut (Table), part of Woodcuts, 2011
9 parts, 253 × 162 cm (each)
edition of 12 + 3 AP
c|g Exhibitions
MENSCHENBILD | Madrid
08.03.–25.05.2024
Looking Through the Threshold | Berlin
30.04.–11.06.2022
Thomas Schütte | Madrid
25.02.–23.04.2022
8/XXX | Berlin
20.11.2021–23.02.2022
Basel By Berlin | Berlin
17.–26.06.2020
So what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? | Madrid
27.02.–01.03.2020
Thomas Schütte | Berlin
28.04.–07.06.2017
Thomas Schütte | Berlin
22.09.–16.10.2004
Personal Absurdities | Berlin
13.10.–12.12.1997
Menschenbilder | Berlin
30.11.1994
External Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition
Genealogies | Punta della Dogana, Palazzo Grassi, Venice
06.04.–23.11.2025
Solo Exhibition
Thomas Schütte | Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
29.09.2024–18.01.2025
Solo Exhibition
Westkunstmodelle 1:1 | De Pont Museum, Tilburg
16.09.2023–04.02.2024
Solo Exhibition
Arbeiten 1975 – 1981 | Skulpturenhalle, Neuss/Holzheim
14.01.–15.03.2022
Solo Exhibition
Thomas Schütte | Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin
19.11.2021–20.02.2022
Solo Exhibition
Thomas Schütte | Kunsthaus Bregenz
13.07.–06.10.2019
Solo Exhibition
Three Acts | Monnaie de Paris, Paris
15.03.–16.06.2019
Solo Exhibition
Thomas Schütte | Skulpturenhalle, Neuss/Holzheim
28.01.–12.03.2017
Solo Exhibition
United Enemies | Moderna Museet, Stockholm
08.10.2016–15.01.2017
