1 October 2007

Thomas Sch�tte�s sculpture for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square will be unveiled on Wednesday 7 November 2007.

The coloured glass sculpture, Model for a Hotel 2007, by the leading German artist Thomas Sch�tte, is an architectural model of a twenty-one storey building, which will collect and reflect the light. Multi-layered, mysterious and sparkling like a bright jewel, Sch�tte�s utopian vision will have a powerful impact on Trafalgar Square.

Born in Oldenburg, Germany in 1954, Thomas Sch�tte is one of the most important artists of his generation. Since the 1970s he has produced a diverse body of work, including surreally distorted figurative sculpture, architectural models and ceramics as well as watercolours. He lives and works in D�sseldorf.

Alison Lapper Pregnant by Marc Quinn is being taken down this week.

Press enquiries

Erica Bolton 020 7221 5000, [email protected], or,
Ben McKnight 020 7983 4071, [email protected]

Notes to editors

1. The Fourth Plinth Programme is led by the Cultural Strategy team, within the Mayor of London�s Office, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group (FPCG). The FPCG recommends contemporary works for the Fourth Plinth. More information is available at the website: www.fourthplinth.co.uk.
2. The Fourth Plinth Programme is funded by the Mayor of London, Arts Council England, London, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
3. The Fourth Plinth Programme sees new artwork being selected for the vacant plinth in a rolling programme of new commissions. The first new commission for the Fourth Plinth under the auspices of the Mayor of London�s Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group was Marc Quinn's sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant, which was unveiled in a public ceremony in September 2005.
4. A key element of the Fourth Plinth Programme is involving people in the debate about public art. More than 10,000 comments were received during the extensive public consultation, which informed the decision of the Commissioning Group.
5. Under the Greater London Authority Act the Mayor, on appointment in June 2000, assumed responsibility for Trafalgar Square. The Fourth Plinth Programme is part of the Mayor's vision for Trafalgar Square to be a vibrant, public space and to encourage debate about the place and value of public art in the built environment. For more information about Trafalgar Square visit the Greater London Authority website: www.london.gov.uk/trafalgarsquare/index.jsp.
6. The Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group is:
   • Chair: Sandy Nairne - Director, National Portrait Gallery
   • Members: Michaela Crimmin - Head of Arts, RSA
   • Tamsin Dillon - Head, Platform for Art, Transport for London
   • Ekow Eshun - Head, Institute of Contemporary Art
   • Diane Henry Lepart - Banker, Lazard
   • James Lingwood - Director, Artangel Trust
   • Grayson Perry - Artist
   • Sunand Prasad - Architect, Partner in Penoyre and Prasad
   • Richard Rieser - Director, Disability Equality in Education
   • Jon Snow - Broadcaster
   • Bill Woodrow - Artist (previously exhibited Regardless of History on the Fourth Plinth)
7. The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds is currently showing an exhibition of Thomas Sch�tte's decorative work. Fake/Function, Thomas Sch�tte: Early Work 1975 - 1980 brings together for the first time a group of wall-based pieces which, by using techniques of traditional stage set design and contemporary conceptual art, transform interior spaces in unexpected ways. The exhibition runs until 6 January 2008, the gallery is open daily and admission is free. For further details visit www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk