(born in Oldenburg in 1954)
12 Portraits, 2009, 12 etchings with drypoint and carborundum over color ground on Zerkall wove paper, each signed and dated Th Schütte 2009, no. 11 from the edition of 35 examples, sheet size 90 x 69 cm, without the portfolio box, each framed, (12)

Literature:
Serpentine Gallery/London (Ed.), Thomas Schütte: Faces & Figures, exhibition catalogue, 2012, illustr. p. 112, 113 (another example)
Fondation Bayeler/Riehen-Basel (Ed.), Thomas Schütte. Figur, exhibition catalogue, 2013, illustr. p. 140, 141 (another example)

12 portraits, 12 faces, 12 people who are strange and familiar at once. The series features people whose gender, age and background remain indeterminate, their clothes as timeless as their hairstyles. There is no background, either literal or metaphorical, to give the viewer a clue to the identity of the people depicted. Schütte likes to work in series. In repetition he traces the nature of man, the ‘condition humaine’. The artist thus creates a compelling plea for humanity and tolerance: despite individual differences, a shared sense of humanity prevails in the end.

Thomas Schütte (born in Oldenburg in 1954) studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy under Fritz Schwegler and Gerhard Richter from 1973 to 1981. His oeuvre, which includes sculptures, drawings, photographs and prints, shows a great love of experimentation and is difficult to categorise. In addition to architectural models, he always places the human figure at the centre of his work.