Viscerally evocative, Dana Schutz’s newest paintings and sculptures depict allegorical scenes in which often grotesque characters negotiate their subjecthood.

Schutz’s large-scale paintings and sculptures portray tragicomic situations populated by characters preoccupied with self-preservation as they tilt towards oblivion. With mask-like features—all jaws and noses—they emerge, in groups and pairs, out of the painterly atmosphere. Enormous, vibrant, and enigmatic, her works convey tangible yet ineffable tensions and ambiguities of human life.

Published on the occasion of the 2023 exhibition at David Zwirner, New York, this catalogue features a long-form essay by Jarrett Earnest, who chronicles Schutz’s artistic process as she creates her most ambitious sculpture to date, Sea Group. Earnest explores the interconnections between Schutz’s long-standing painting practice and her more recent engagement with sculpture, offering a fascinating reflection on the artist’s thematic explorations, artistic inquiry, and the conceptual underpinnings of her work. The text is also accompanied by behind-the-scenes photography by Jason Schmidt, which offer an intimate view of the artist at work.

Text by: Jarrett Earnest