Emerging in the 1980s, Thomas Schütte is widely considered one of the most important sculptors of his generation. In addition to sculpture, the artist’s work encompasses printmaking, watercolor paintings and installation. Schütte uses materials such as steel, aluminum, bronze and more to create his most recognized sculptural work: busts with dripping features that exemplify the artist's exploration of the human body and the role of the artist in society.

BIO:

Thomas Schütte was born in Oldenburg, Germany in 1954. The artist studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in Germany under Gerhard Richter and Fritz Schwegler. 

Solo exhibitions of Schütte’s work have taken place at: the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden; the Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany; the Kunst Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland; the Neues Museum in Nurnberg, Germany; the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, UK; the Kunstmuseum Lichtenstein Galerie Nelson in Paris, France; and Peter Freeman in New York City; among others.

Group exhibitions that have shown Schütte’s work have taken place at: the Royal Academy of Arts in London, UK; the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado; MoMA in New York City; and the New Museum in New York City; among others.

Schütte’s work is in the public collections of: the DIA Center for the Arts, New York City; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gardens, Washington D.C.; the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France; MoMA, New York City; Tate Gallery, London, UK; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; among others.

In 2014, Schütte was the recipient of the Ernst Franz Vogelmann Award for Sculpture. In 2010, the artist won the Dusseldorf prize. In 2005, Schütte’s work was exhibited at the 51st Venice Biennale and the artist was the recipient of that year’s Golden Lion award.

Schütte lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.