I recently got a chance to visit München, right on time to check out Dana Schutz's solo show at Pinakothek der Moderne. But as I enjoyed the selection of paintings, works on paper, and sculpture, I couldn’t help feeling like I was shooting myself in the foot. Everything from iconic paintings to the new watercolor monotypes hand-colored w gouache and chalk, and the series of charcoal drawings culminating with a mural-sized Catcher, 2026, set the bar for the new exhibition season waaaaay up high.

The thing that strikes me every time I’m in front of Schutz’ work is how she seems not to take herself too seriously when making the work. It almost feels wrong to say that for an artist who's been rightfully considered one of the most exciting voices in contemporary figurative painting, but in my book it makes sense to sprinkle a dose of mischievous buffoonery into the mix. Starting from an absurd premise or problem, the Brooklyn-based artist seems to use the process of painting to envision not so much how it would look as how it would feel. This approach requires intuitive, expressive mark-making that captures the thoughts and emotions at play as the idea takes shape. Basically, the works are manifestations of physical investigations or improvisations on “how would it be?” that give a visual appearance to an abstract or real but very specific trouble.

This is partially why they tend to get very complex and cluttered w various elements and perspectives that come to mind during the process. Off-center pileups, the blurred border between the outside and inside, or protagonists who carry around all their belongings give the scenes a constant undertone of comedy/tragedy, balancing heaviness and humor. And with the lens frequently turned toward the artist and the weight of art history on their work, the scenes have an almost palpable pathos.

It’s like Schutz is not making paintings of something; it's more that the paintings themselves ARE that something. They're paintings of things that don't have an image, so one way to get to them is to paint them. They are the reality, or the story of Trouble and Appearance, that can and will never exist unless painted. —Saša Bogojev

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Photo: Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München // Works courtesy of the artist, Two Palms, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin – Basel, and David Zwirner
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Photo: Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München // Works courtesy of the artist, Two Palms, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin – Basel, and David Zwirner
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Photo by Sasa Bogojev, Works courtesy of the artist, Two Palms, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin – Basel, and David Zwirner
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Photo by Sasa Bogojev, Works courtesy of the artist, Two Palms, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin – Basel, and David Zwirner
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Photo by Sasa Bogojev, Works courtesy of the artist, Two Palms, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin – Basel, and David Zwirner
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Photo by Sasa Bogojev, Works courtesy of the artist, Two Palms, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin – Basel, and David Zwirner

Trouble and Appearance is on view through October 4, 2026

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