Thomas Schütte

The Middelheim Museum is constantly in motion, but in 2012, the Museum and its collection underwent a major metamorphosis. A renovation that people literally cannot ignore, Het Huis, designed by Robbrecht en Daem for the "Hortiflora," the Nightingale Park's flower garden, was added to the open-air museum. The steel, semi-open pavilion provides shelter for fragile works of art, without isolating them from their surroundings.

Paul Robbrecht and Menno Meewis invited leading German artist Thomas Schütte (1954, Germany) to inaugurate the pavilion. In Het Huis, Thomas Schütte brings together fragile glass and ceramic pieces from 1999 to 2011 that come into their own perfectly within the protective surrounds of the pavilion (see attachment 1: Thomas Schütte installation in Het Huis). It consists of figurative sculptures, or works that—just like the collectives Urnen (1999) or Kleine Glasgeister (2011)—refer to interpersonal relationships. They are often portraits or interpretations of the genre. Each and every one of the pieces are characterised by a remarkable sensitivity and intense use of colour, but even more so by an exceptional insight into the human condition. The crystal clear selection and extremely well thought-through installation, with hanging pedestals and display cases, guarantee a special fusion of the sculptures and the unique surroundings.

Thomas Schütte