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5/6/2013

Thomas Schutte

Vorderer Utoquai/ Bellevue, Zurich

Thomas Schütte’s group of Vier Grosse Geister is made up of four figural sculptures. The figures call to mind heavy-footed golems, bulging Michelin Men or misshapen mascots, and trigger a range of associations. Are we looking at a family of giants from Gulliver’s Travels? Spine-chilling ghosts who have returned to haunt us from the past? Or even an alliance of great thinkers? All are conceivable. The figures establish a curious interaction with one another in their arrangement as a group. At the same time, they address themselves through their gestures to passers-by and visitors. By copying one of their poses or silently contemplating these unusual figures, children and adults alike can experience these spirit figures in a personal way.

The four larger-than-life sculptures all adopt different poses. One tips his head backwards and gazes skywards, while a second stands with his head bowed. The third is poised in the expectant stance of a victor. The fourth member of the group is slightly stooped and wrapped in thought. He thereby reconciles the opposites of movement and stillness, hectic and calm, transience and permanence that characterize every public space.

Thomas Schütte embarked on these sculptures in the mid-1990s. Initially small in scale, furnished with various utensils and arranged in scenarios, Schütte’s spirit figures quickly evolved into monumental sculptures reminiscent of human figures, which the artist cast in steel, bronze and aluminum and installed singly or in groups. The present exhibit, Vier Grosse Geister, emerged out of this process. Each stands over eight feet tall and weighs around half a ton. Cast in bronze and given a black patina, the four plinthless sculptures inhabit the public space both as a group and as unique individuals. Their constellation is flexible and allows for freedom of scope depending on location and setting.

In recent years the Vier Grosse Geister sculptural group has appeared on Der Graben, the famous shopping street in Vienna (2011), and in the grounds of the Villa Schöningen in Potsdam (2010). In Vienna the sculptures were placed in a line in the middle of a busy pedestrian precinct, while in Potsdam they stood in a circle around a tree. Schütte’s Vier Grosse Geister haunt public spaces of the most different kinds. Since 2004 a trio of spirit figures of even larger scale has stood in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Thomas Schütte was born in 1954 in Oldenburg, Germany. He lives and works in Düsseldorf, where he studied at the Kunstakademie from 1973-81. Schütte has received a large number of prestigious awards, including the Golden Lion for his presentation at the Venice Biennale (2005). In recent years, major exhibitions of his work have been held at the Castello di Rivoli in Turin (2012), the Reina Sofia in Madrid (2010) and the Haus der Kunst in Munich (2009).

Since the 1980s, awareness of Thomas Schütte has tended to focus on his architecturally inspired objects and models. It has only gradually become apparent that he has over the same period created a rich body of work consisting of sculptures and drawings that centre on the human figure. Today, Thomas Schütte is one of the most fascinating and most important artists of his generation. Curator of the public space art project Vier Grosse Geister is Theodora Vischer, Senior Curator at the Fondation Beyeler. The public space art project is part of the exhibition «Thomas Schütte» which Fondation Beyeler will be presenting from 6 October 2013. Fondation Beyeler thanks JTI for their generous support as well as the following foundation and patrons: Simone and Peter Forcart- Staehelin; Georg und Bertha Schwyzer-Winiker Stiftung.

The project in public space Vier Grosse Geister was made possible with the support of JTI. In the context of its cultural commitment, JTI engages in various projects worldwide, including contemporary art in public places. In addition, JTI supports programs in the areas of environment, disaster management, and social welfare. JTI is a leading international tobacco product manufacturer. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, JTI employs 25,000 people around the world and operates in 120 countries.

Image: Stylisation of the sculpture by Thomas Schütte Vier Grosse Geister, 2003 Maximum print size: 20 x 20 cm

Further information:
Elena DelCarlo, M.A. Head of PR / Media Relations Tel. + 41 (0)61 645 97 21, presse@fondationbeyeler.ch - www.fondationbeyeler.ch

Zurich Vorderer Utoquai/ Bellevue, June 6th – July 2nd, 2013
Geneva as from July 24th, 2013
Bern as from September 11th, 2013
Basel as from October 2013

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