Picture "Sophie" (2005)

Thomas Schütte, born in Oldenburg, Germany, in 1954, is one of the most important and highly prized contemporary German sculptors. The artist, who also works as a draughtsman, studied at the Düsseldorf Academy and is a master-class student of Gerhard Richter.

Schütte said of his teacher and what he learned from him: "There is the idea of repertoire, and there is the idea that you shouldn't exhaust people with everlasting ego acts, that you shouldn't bore them."

The artist's figures, architectural models and drawings are characterised by wit and humour; for example, viewers are eyed by cheeky, larger-than-life grimaces.

The Corona pandemic prevented a comprehensive retrospective of the sculptor's work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2021, but it is now scheduled to take place in 2024. Most recently, the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin presented an exhibition highlighting Thomas Schütte's broad oeuvre and various work cycles.