Thomas Schütte. Frauen

22 may 2012 - 23 september 2012

curated by Andrea Bellini and Dieter Schwarz

The Castello di Rivoli presents the first Italian museum exhibition dedicated to Thomas Schütte, the German artist. The exhibition, prepared in close collaboration with the artist, has been curated by Andrea Bellini, co-director of the Castello di Rivoli and Dieter Schwarz, director of the Kunstmuseum Winterthur. Co-produced by the Museum and by the NMNM Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, the Turinese exhibition marks the first of two events dedicated to this important German artist, whose work will also be presented at the NMNM in the Principality of Monaco between 6 July and 10 November. Within the spaces of Villa Paloma in Monaco, the exhibition concentrates on the series of architectural models of the One Man Houses, accompanied by a group of recent and as yet unseen works exploring various themes dear to the artist, such as bunkers and temples. The Castello di Rivoli exhibition, instead, examines the Frauen series, extraordinary portrayals of women whose bodies are submitted to spatial and organic deformations. What emerges forcefully from this group of works is Schütte’s ability to effect a true formal and imaginative revolution, not only with regard to the noble tradition of Western figurative sculpture but also to that of his own œuvre. The bronze and aluminum Frauen derive directly from some ceramic models chosen from the 120 different rough sketches realized between 1997 and 1999.

For the first time ever, the 18 Frauen will be presented together in the impressive spaces of the Manica Lunga, the former paintings gallery of the Savoys in the 17^th century, measuring 6 meters by 146. The Frauen will be accompanied by the complete series of their ceramic models and the 100 watercolors from the artist’s private collection. At the Castello di Rivoli, the artist is also presenting two new bronze sculptures four meters high, called United Enemies, which will greet the visitor as he approaches the entrance to the 18^th-century castle.

Two catalogs will be published by Richter Verlag for the exhibitions, Frauen and One Man Houses, accompanied by the critical texts of the two curators, Andrea Bellini and Dieter Schwarz.

The exhibition at the Castello di Rivoli has been organized thanks to the contribution of the Fondazione CRT Progetto Arte Moderna e Contemporanea and Pernod Ricard Italia S.p.A.