THOMAS SCHUTTE – FACES AND FIGURES
2012-08-27Over several decades, Schütte has created watercolours and drawings of acquaintances and friends, as well as many self-portraits, including the Mirror Drawing works. His drawings are often created in series, approaching the same subject numerous times as a means of engaging with the inner nature of the individual. Schütte’s drawings feed closely into his sculptural portraits, which are created in a similar spirit.
A work central to the Serpentine exhibition is Vater Staat (Father State) 2011, a towering steel sculpture of an authoritative figure who, paradoxically, appears frail and isolated. This formidable work relates to Schütte’s interest in shifts of scale; although epic, the work remains an investigation into fragility. Vater Staat resonates with the works placed outdoors in Kensington Gardens, the larger United Enemies sculptures; formidable yet anonymous figures, these are sited in the most public of spaces.
Opposite – Innocenti, 1994
Exhibition runs from September 25th to November 18th, 2012
Serpentine Gallery
Kensington Gardens
London
W2 3XA
