Thomas Schütte exhibition, a real first in FranceMeeting between two universes : the extravagance of Thomas Schütte with the know-how of Monnaie de ParisThe 11 Conti - Monnaie de Paris is holding the first Parisian retrospective of the leadi...
Thomas Schütte Bilingual catalogue 20 x 27 cm - 192 pages
€34.00
Description
Thomas Schütte exhibition, a real first in France
Meeting between two universes : the extravagance of Thomas Schütte with the know-how of Monnaie de Paris
The 11 Conti - Monnaie de Paris is holding the first Parisian retrospective of the leading and unclassifiable German artist Thomas Schütte (b. 1954 and living in Düsseldorf). A student of Gerhard Richter at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf until the 1980s, he is now recognized as on of the principal reinventors of sculpture. His work is influenced as much by minimal and conceptual art as by classical sculpture and its main representational conventions. Schütte has been the subject of several major monographs and European retrospectives including, most recently, at Moderna Museet in Stockholm (2016), the Foundation Beyeler in Basel (2013), and the Serpentine Gallery in London (2012). His works are in the collections of the world's leading museums and are regularly exhibited.
It has been 15 years since the work of Thomas Schütte has been shown in France, almost 30 years since Parisians have seen it, and there are hardly any publications in French on his work. That is why the catalogue of this exhibition, consisting of three essays and an interview with the artist, is so important: it sheds light on the main features of Schütte’s work and reveals his way of thinking. Indeed, he himself chose the sequence of pictures and established (at times unexpected) connections between works. He closely supervised the complete design of a work that thus constitutes a new hanging, one that differs from the layout in the courtyards and rooms of the 11 Conti.
Camille Morineau (curator of the exhibition and director of exhibitions and collections at the Monnaie de Paris)
Our craftman
THE ENAMELLER
Our creations are enamelled using a rare technique known as grand feu enamelling. Another workshop sends the enameller a decoration, piece of jewellery or struck medal with hollow spaces on its surface. Using a dip pen, needle or brush, the enameller fills these hollows with enamel, which they have prepared themselves. The fixing of the variously coloured enamel powders is controlled by short, successive firings at 900 degrees.
THE MEDAL MINTER
The medal minter transforms a blank into a medal, alternating between striking to bring out the relief and annealing to return the metal to a more malleable state. The blank is struck as many times as necessary, depending on the diameter, depth and detail of the engraving. Finally, surface treatments are applied to enhance the finished piece
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Trained at the best schools, they have the years of experience behind them necessary to master all aspects of the craft. Using industrial oil-based modelling clay and working from a design executed freehand or with CAD software, they skilfully fashion a low relief model in order to enhance the engraving and the way it catches the light. They work alternately with concave and convex plaster moulds until satisfied they have achieved the best 3D rendering of the design.
THE MINTER
The first minters began to ply their trade in France when striking with a hammer appeared in the 4th century BC. Nowdays, minsters use press instead of a hammer. Their knowledge of dies, engraving and metals, and their expertise - passed seamlessly down from one generation to the next for centuries - guarantees the excellence of their work.