Provenance
Galerie Nelson, Paris
Catalogue Essay
Although primarily known as a sculptor,Thomas Schütte's widely diverse practice ranging from drawing to model making through to installation informs the entirety of his oeuvre. His various artistic approaches allow him to constantly bring fresh perspectives to his on going exploration of the human condition and the complexities and contradictions of human behaviour.The present lot, StahlfrauNr. 7 (Steel Woman no. 7), belongs to a decade long body of work in which Schütte, using bronze, steel and aluminium, engaged with the rich tradition of the female nude in sculpture. Although executed in the modernist neo-classical style, there is very little else in common between Stahlfrau Nr. 7 and the idealized representations of the human form sculpted from marble in ancient Rome. In the present lot, Schütte mutilates the female body leaving it decapitated and legless with the tone of the skin a rusty reddish brown.This is a violent and deeply unflattering portrayal of a woman who lies on her side curled up in a ball.The anonymous female torso cuts a vulnerable and forlorn figure, her fragile state accentuated by her relative small size in comparison with the scale of the table upon which she rests. She is like a victim shivering in the aftermath of a violent crime.
One of the most important German artists working today, who is currently the subject of a major midcareer retrospective at the Haus der Kunst in Munich,Thomas Schütte like his illustrious compatriots Anselm Kiefer, Joseph Beuys and Martin Kippenberger is acutely aware of and constantly grappling with the role of the artist in a modern Germany still coming to terms with the Holocaust and Hitlerian legacy.The artist may shy away from giving his work overt meaning and influences, yet one cannot but connote Stahlfrau Nr. 7 with Arno Becker's awesome public sculptures found throughout Germany. Although executed with the same weight and scale, Schütte subverts the grandiose and heroic Nazi propaganda ideal by presenting a grotesque body made of rusty steel. Far from having a smooth, perfect finish, Stahlfrau Nr. 7 is a visceral sculpture in which the artist's physically pain staking working method is visible throughout. Awe inspiring, the patina's subtle shades of copper areas beautiful as the technical ability of its execution is masterly. With time and reflection, it becomes clear that Stahlfrau Nr. 7 is the product of a confident artist working at the height of his powers.
"So far as meanings are concerned, I would rather talk with my hands and through forms and let these creatures live their own lives and tell their own stories. Avoiding certain fixed positions is important to me, avoiding being too classical or too predictable... I always hope that in the end the work will be physically present.That the works lead to essential questions is important...The things you cannot talk about- these are essential. Some answers can't be spoken. I believe that material, form and colour have their own language that cannot be translated. Direct experience is much more touching than media, photographs and so on." (Thomas Schütte in conversation with James Lingwood, Thomas Schütte,London, 1998, p. 22)

14

Thomas Schütte

Stahlfrau Nr. 7 (Steel Woman no. 7)

2001
Steel in two parts.
Overall dimensions: 130 x 250 x 125 cm. (52 x 98 1/2 x 49 1/4 in).
This work is from an edition of two.

Estimate
£300,000 - 500,000 ♠

Sold for £457,250

Contemporary Evening Sale

29 June 2009, 7pm
London

1
Gert and Uwe Tobias
Untitled
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠
Sold for £32,450
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2
Sergej Jensen
Odd Couple
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ‡♠
Sold for £26,250
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3
Barry McGee
Untitled
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000
Sold for £22,500
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4
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (large colored butterfly white background 10 wings)
Estimate £70,000 - 100,000 ≠†
Sold for £145,250
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5
Wim Delvoye
Clio
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ♠
Sold for £85,250
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6
James Turrell
Acro, Blue
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
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7
Mario Merz
Senza titolo (Una somma reale è una somma di gente)
Estimate £180,000 - 250,000
Sold for £217,250
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8
Florian Maier-Aichen
Untitled
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ≠♠†
Sold for £51,650
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9
Roni Horn
Seen in the distance
Estimate £35,000 - 45,000
Sold for £82,850
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10
Andy Warhol
Five Guns
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £211,250
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11
Ed Ruscha
That Was Then This Is Now
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000
Sold for £713,250
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12
Richard Prince
Spiritual America IV
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡
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13
Jack Goldstein
Untitled
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000
Sold for £121,250
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14
Thomas Schütte
Stahlfrau Nr. 7 (Steel Woman no. 7)
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ♠
Sold for £457,250
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15
John Chamberlain
Mr. Moto
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡
Sold for £529,250
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16
Robert Rauschenberg
Wolf Wood (Urban Bourbon series)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
Sold for £289,250
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17
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ♠
Sold for £85,250
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18
Jeff Koons
Mermaid Troll
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
Sold for £241,250
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19
Zhang Xiaogang
Untitled
Estimate £300,000 - 400,000 ≠†
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20
Ed Ruscha
Doric
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
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21
Gerhard Richter
Schatten 6
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡♠
Sold for £133,250
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22
Wilhelm Sasnal
Cemetery
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ‡♠
Sold for £37,250
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23
Kehinde Wiley
Passing/Posing - St. Helena
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ‡
Sold for £51,650
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24
Robert Indiana
Art
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 Ω
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25
Yan Pei-Ming
Timonier 009
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ♠
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26
Yoshitomo Nara
Your Dog
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000
Sold for £121,250
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27
Yue Minjun
Untitled
Estimate £250,000 - 300,000 ≠†
Sold for £421,250
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28
Alighiero Boetti
Tutto
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £181,250
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29
Kenneth Noland
Shift
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
Sold for £121,250
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30
Tal R
Fungusia
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ≠♠†
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31
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ≠♠†
Sold for £85,250
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32
Feng Zhengjie
Chinese Portrait P Series 2006 No. 2
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ≠†
Sold for £98,450
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33
Inka Essenhigh
Pegasus
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ≠†
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34
Michael Raedecker
ins and outs
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ≠♠†
Sold for £111,650
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35
Wang Guangyi
Art Go
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ≠†
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36
Damien Hirst
Beautiful Lazarides Inc. Auction Spinny Thingy Where Will It All End, Money For Old Rope, Buy This You Bugger, Its Got Kline Blue Bloody Splashes In It For Fuck's Sake, Love You Really Painting (with xxxxx)
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡♠
Sold for £193,250
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37
Jonathan Meese
Die Verschworung des Dr. Pottsau
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
Sold for £97,250
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38
Jitish Kallat
Collidonthus
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
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39
Wim Delvoye
Cabinet (Installation of 14 Delft sawblades and 2 Delft gas canisters)
Estimate £55,000 - 65,000 ♠
Sold for £85,250
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40
Ashley Bickerton
Herr Schoendorff
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000
Sold for £51,650
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Contemporary Evening Sale

29 June 2009, 7pm London

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Provenance

Catalogue Essay

14

Thomas Schütte

Stahlfrau Nr. 7 (Steel Woman no. 7)

Contemporary Evening Sale

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29 June 2009, 7pm
London