Artist Thomas Schütte: ‘It’s those with no emotions who are really in trouble’

“What I do involves a lot of dirt,” says Thomas Schütte as he lights another cigarette. “Dirt and dust and material. Other people might make video art, but I can’t sit down and work like that. I like to handle material. Working with clay is like therapy. And if I get bored with that, I turn to something else.”

The German artist, who turned 70 last year, is perched above Venice, in the twisting tower of the Punta della Dogana. One of the two historical buildings in the city converted into art galleries in the 2000s by luxury magnate François Pinault, the Dogana is a former customs house, and occupies the triangular tip of land where the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal converge. The view from up here is sensational on a sunny spring day but Schütte likes this spot because it’s outdoors and he can smoke. He keeps a tiny round tin in the pocket of his buff linen jacket for the cigarette butts.

Below, in the Dogana’s capacious rooms, is a new exhibition of his work from 1977 to now, though it is no retrospective. Instead it follows cert...
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