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Figurative sculpture on the occasion of his 75th birthday – work between antiquity and the present
On Friday, October 10, 2025, the Netuschil Gallery in Darmstadt will open a major anniversary exhibition featuring the work of sculptor Thomas Duttenhoefer . Following successful museum exhibitions in Bremen, Erfurt, and Speyer, the gallery will present his work under the title "Myths and Myth" .
Duttenhoefer is one of Germany's most important figurative sculptors. His work, which has developed over five decades, combines existential themes such as illness, death, and loss with motifs from antiquity. Figures from Ovid's tales, heads, torsos, and portraits of famous personalities—his sculptural vocabulary preserves classical forms, reinterprets them, and imbues them with philosophical and humanistic depth.
In Duttenhoefer's works, humanity in its contradictory states – grief, suffering, joy, happiness, ecstasy – takes on a distinctive contour, ranging from classical styles to contemporary depictions of the human image. Among his approximately 250 portraits are those of figures such as Mario Adorf, Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Rita Süssmuth, Hilde Domin, Karl Krolow, Edgar Reitz, and Thomas Bernhard.
Thomas Duttenhoefer was born in Speyer in 1950 and has lived in Darmstadt-Rosenhöhe since 1979. In addition to many years of artistic work, he taught in Trier and Mannheim, among other places. He has received numerous awards for his life's work, including the Darmstadt Art Prize in 1988.
Mirjam Verhey-Focke, MA (Gerhard-Marcks-Haus, Bremen) and Claus K. Netuschil (gallerist and curator) will speak at the opening on October 10. Alongside the exhibition, there will be public guided tours, a book launch in honor of Karl Krolow, and a bicycle tour to locations of Duttenhoefer's sculptures in Darmstadt.
Event information:
- Date: Friday, October 10, 2025, 7 p.m
- Location: Galerie Netuschil, Schleiermacherstraße 8, Darmstadt
- Opening hours: Thu–Fri 2:30 pm–7:00 pm, Sat 10:00 am–2:00 pm; and by appointment
- Further information: www.galerie-netuschil.net
