Born at Oldenburg in Germany in 1954, Thomas Schütte has developed a multivalent practice, stemming from minimalism and conceptual art. The visitor is greeted at the entrance then ushered out of the exhibition by his large-scale aluminum sculptures, Grosse Geister. These works, shown at Palazzo Grassi during the exhibition Mapping the Studio (2009-10), reveal a concern for figuration and the human condition that recurs throughout Schütte’s oeuvre, as exemplified in his works presented at the Punta della Dogana. The Grosse Geister came to life through the formation and molding of long strands of wax, which were
then cast in aluminum. This explains their anti-monumental appearance: they are both robotic and organic, futuristic and absurd. The “great minds” referred to in this work’s title are contained in reflective aluminum shells, which passively absorb the shadows and forms of their environment. Despite their monumental size, they seem elastic, ready to move about the space as soon as the viewer looks away. This blending of contradictory elements results in these comic somewhat mischievous sculptures, through which Schütte gives mass and presence to vaporous beings.


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