Talk

This spring, Public Art Fund presents a series of talks by three distinctive artists whose work stretches the boundaries of objects and spaces in the public realm. Whether through the manipulation of a form’s scale in response to a specific context or the permeability of concepts, ideas, and emotions, each of the artists showcased in this series explores art’s ability to alter our experience of public space and the nature of sculpture itself.

Thomas Schütte (b. 1954, Oldenburg, Germany) is one of the most important and influential figures in contemporary art. From architectural structures to sculptures, prints, drawings, and watercolors, his diverse and highly accomplished body of work resists categorization. For the past two decades, the contemplation of fundamental questions about our contemporary human condition has been a central concern in his ongoing sculptural series, “United Enemies.” Exploring the human form with a remarkable technical facility, his commanding yet detailed figures embody the expressive and metaphorical power of his work.

Schütte’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at institutions including the Serpentine Gallery, London, 2012; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain, 2011; Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2009; Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, 2008; Museu Serralves, Portugal, 2006; the Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland, 2003; Dia Center for the Arts, New York, a three-part survey, 1998-2000; Serralves Foundation, Portugal, 1998; Kunsthalle, Hamburg, 1994; ARC Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1990; as well as the Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, 1990. His work is included in the permanent collections of most major international museums, including Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Reina Sofia, Madrid; Tate, London; Dallas Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Public Art Fund Talks at The New School are organized by the Public Art Fund in collaboration with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School.

VLC = 20 Years. Join us for the 20th anniversary year, with free admissions to all VLC events.