Inside Thomas Schütte’s mind: why you can’t miss his exhibition in Venice

For the first time ever, I visited an exhibition and had a strange feeling: the works were watching me!

No, I’m not joking, it really happened to me at Punta della Dogana when I saw Thomas Schütte’s exhibition: Genealogies. This is the highly anticipated retrospective dedicated to one of the most irreverent and original artists in contemporary art. Until 23 November 2025, you have the opportunity to take a (sometimes surreal) journey into Schütte’s mind, among gigantic sculptures, deformed faces, reclining bodies and impossible architecture.

Thomas Schütte, Modell und Ansichten, 1982, collection of the artist. Installation view, “Thomas Schütte. Genealogies”, 2025, Punta della Dogana, Venezia. Ph. Marco Cappelletti © Palazzo Grassi – Pinault Collection © Thomas Schütte, by SIAE 2025

Thomas Schütte. Genealogies at Punta della Dogana, Venice

Curated by Camille Morineau and Jean-Marie Gallais for the Pinault Collection, Genealogies is the first major retrospective in Italy dedicated to Thomas Schütte, which should be enough to make you want to book your ticket.

Thomas Schütte, born in Oldenburg in 1954, is one of those artists who is impossible to define with a single label because his works mix genres and materials, ideas and provocations.

Since the late 1970s, Schütte has created his own universe of ironic and melancholic human figures, giant busts, double heads and architectural models that seem to have come out of a somewhat disturbed (but fascinating) dream.

The heart of the exhibition consists of around fifty sculptures from the Pinault Collection, accompanied by loans from the artist and over a hundred works on paper, many of which have never been seen before.

These numbers alone make it clear that this is not a simple exhibition, but a true portrait of Schütte’s universe.

The common thread running through the exhibition is the human figure: mistreated, caricatured, sometimes comical, always moving. You will find bronze heads, ceramic bodies lying down, satirical busts inspired by ancient Rome, but also genderless faces and standing figures that seem imprisoned by the material.

Each form tells us something about our times: loneliness, politics, identity, the body. And it does so with a combination of humour, violence, delicacy and visual intelligence that leaves you breathless.

If you think the sculptures steal the show, wait until you see the drawings. Schütte’s work on paper is less well known, but it is the real secret laboratory where everything is born. Watercolours, engravings, studies and sketches enter into a continuous dialogue with the three-dimensional works, offering an intimate and often surprising insight into the artist’s creative process.

Thomas Schütte, Mann im Wind II, 2018, Pinault Collection; Mann im Wind I, 2018, Pinault Collection; Mann im Wind III, 2018, Pinault Collection; DEKA Fahnen, 1989, Courtesy the artist and Peter Freeman, Inc., New York/Paris. Installation view, “Thomas Schütte. Genealogies”, 2025, Punta della Dogana, Venezia. Ph. Marco Cappelletti © Palazzo Grassi – Pinault Collection © Thomas Schütte, by SIAE 2025

An exhibition for those who love art that makes you think (and smile)

The exhibition does not follow a chronological order, but moves according to affinities, retracing themes and variations as in a great visual symphony. You will see motifs that return after years, reinterpreted with new materials or enlarged to monumental proportions. This is because Schütte does not create isolated works: he constructs genealogies, where each figure is the daughter or cousin of another, in a continuous evolution.

I recommend taking your time to savour each room. Punta della Dogana, with its evocative spaces, amplifies the dialogue between the works and the visitor, and I can assure you that you will feel involved, watched and provoked. Sometimes even amused.

And what’s more…

The exhibition is accompanied by a guide to help you navigate the artist’s ingenious oddities, a catalogue published by Marsilio Arte and a series of special events, including film screenings curated by renowned critic Dominique Païni. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn more and experience art with all your senses.

If you love exhibitions that leave a lasting impression, Thomas Schütte. Genealogies is your next must-see. Don’t miss the opportunity to see one of the most visionary artists of our time up close. Punta della Dogana awaits you.

Thomas Schütte. Genealogies
Curated by Camille Morineau and Jean-Marie Gallais
Punta della Dogana, Venice
6 April – 23 November 2025

See you there?

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