Thomas Schutte

Organized around the themes of models, monuments, andmemorialsżkey subjects in Schütteżs artżthis volume offers acomprehensive selection of work from the late 1970s to todayby an artist considered a key figure of his generation. Schütteżsinstallations, sculptures, prints, drawings, and watercolorsoften take contradictory forms, and his art may seem to depictalien worlds. Yet his focus is everyday life, whose basicconstituentsżnatural, cultural, politicalżhe revises, using abroad range of materials and colors, while asking questionsabout the place of art in society. Schütte has long engagedwith many of the traditional genres of sculptureżthe recliningfemale figure and the commemorative portrait bust, forexampleżyet the results are utterly unconventional. A deeplycontrarian spirit informs his approach, resulting in atransformation of standard and formulaic modes into singularstatements that reflect on history, politics, social space, andcollective experience. Together the works in this bookcomprise an impressive career marked by constant changeand innovation.