These glazed-ceramic faces by Thomas Schütte are confusing and upsetting at the same time, since the last thing one would have expected from this artist are works that dignify humankind. Schütte is known more as a representative of the so-called “furniture builders” who were held in opposition to figurative artists by critics in the ’80s. But, as is frequently the case in contemporary art history, and as Schütte demonstrates in this new body of work, critics often use art to fulfill their own ambitions.

The human figure has always been an important aspect of Schütte’s work, but this aspect did