Gerhard Richter 1988/89

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. 40 Years of Painting at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, this publication represents a broad range of Gerhard Richter's paintings of the last 40 years.

Gerhard Richter's diverse body of work questions broadly held attitudes about the inherent importance of stylistic consistency for an artist. It ranges from photo-based pictures all across the board to gestural abstraction. The 'natural' evolution of individual artistic sensibility, the spontaneous component of creativity and the relationship of technological means and mass media imagery to traditional studio methods and formats. Richter has always kept his distance from revolutionaries and conservatives alike regarding what painting “should” be. This has resulted in what has been among the most convincing renewal of painting's vitality in late 20th- and early 21st-century art.

This publication consists of a critical essay by curator Robert Storr, a rare interview with the artist himself, a chronology, an exhibition history, and nearly 300 colour and duotone reproductions.

Gerhard Richter is widely recognized as one of the most significant painters working today, and he is certainly among the most influential. He has worked in a wide range of media since the early 1960s, producing abstractions, landscapes, images derived from the mass media and from other photographs, and more. Seen together, these works call into question such widely held assumptions as the importance of stylistic consistency, individual artistic sensibility and spontaneous creativity. They also explore the impact of technology and media imagery on the traditional methods and formats of painting.

The Museum of Modern Art has published two important books on Richter, both written by Robert Storr: one covering forty years of his work, and published to accompany the Museum's large retrospective of his work in 2002, and one focusing on a single crucial series, October 18, 1977. This book brings together the essays and recent interviews from both of those books in a single volume.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. 40 Years of Painting at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, this publication represents a broad range of Gerhard Richter's paintings of the last 40 years.

Gerhard Richter's diverse body of work questions broadly held attitudes about the inherent importance of stylistic consistency for an artist. It ranges from photo-based pictures all across the board to gestural abstraction. The 'natural' evolution of individual artistic sensibility, the spontaneous component of creativity and the relationship of technological means and mass media imagery to traditional studio methods and formats. Richter has always kept his distance from revolutionaries and conservatives alike regarding what painting “should” be. This has resulted in what has been among the most convincing renewal of painting's vitality in late 20th- and early 21st-century art.

This publication consists of a critical essay by curator Robert Storr, a rare interview with the artist himself, a chronology, an exhibition history, and nearly 300 colour and duotone reproductions.

Catalogue accompanying the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Acht Grau at the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany.

This exhibition catalogue for the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin details Richter’s experiments with glass and mirrors, and their relationship to painting. Alluding to a modern interpretation of the momento mori, he tackles the apparent nothingness, the void through his large grey mirror pieces. Nearly 50 drawings from 1965 to the present, as well as studies for the Berlin installation have been included.

This publication concludes with an essay by Richter expert Benjamin H.D. Buchloh.

Gerhard Richter. Rot, Gelb, Blau by Helmut Friedel analyses and contextualises the paintings Red, Yellow and Blue [CR: 345/1-3] commissioned by BMW for their Munich headquarters, within the context of Richter’s œuvre.

During the years 1970 to 1980 Gerhard Richter frequently addressed paint as a means of painting and especially images of pastose brush strokes. This examination led to the large works Red, Yellow and Blue of 1973, each measuring 3 x 6 metres. The BMW headquarters themselves are also considered, as the space, for which Richter created the paintings.

A text contribution by Robert Storr places Red, Yellow, and Blue in an historical context and refers to the historical aspects that might have played a role in the creative process of the BMW works.

The catalogue Gerhard Richter. Bilder / Serien accompanies Gerhard Richter’s eponymous exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler. The show is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, a longstanding friend of Richter, and looks back at 60 years of the artist’s work. The exhibition focuses on work he created since the 1960s; namely, series, cycles and interior spaces. According to Obrist, too little attention has been devoted to this specific section of his oeuvre to date. Works exhibited in groups are juxtaposed with single pieces, which act as both counterpoints characteristic of Richter’s style, yet simultaneously illuminate the similarities between the different bodies of work.

Besides illustrations of the exhibited paintings, the catalogue also includes text contributions by Sam Keller, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Dieter Schwarz. The essays by Obrist and Schwarz primarily analyse Richter’s series. An interview between the curator and Richter reveals the background of the development of the series. Furthermore, the catalogue includes a letter by George Didi-Huberman, who shares his thoughts after a visit to the artist’s studio.

The catalogue Gerhard Richter. Pictures / Series accompanies Gerhard Richter’s exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler. The show is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, a longstanding friend of Richter, and looks back at 60 years of the artist’s work. The exhibition focuses on work he created since the 1960s; namely, series, cycles and interior spaces. According to Obrist, too little attention has been devoted to this specific section of his oeuvre to date. Works exhibited in groups are juxtaposed with single pieces, which act as both counterpoints characteristic of Richter’s style, yet simultaneously illuminate the similarities between the different bodies of work.

Besides illustrations of the exhibited paintings, the catalogue also includes texts contributed by Sam Keller, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Dieter Schwarz. The essays by Obrist and Schwarz primarily analyse Richter’s series. An interview between the curator and Richter reveals the background of the development of the series. Furthermore, the catalogue includes a letter by George Didi-Huberman, who shares his thoughts after a visit to the artist’s studio.

Gerhard Richter has been widely regarded as a publicity shy artist. However, the biography Gerhard Richter, Maler gives an insight into Richter’s personal history as well as into the development of his artistic œuvre.
Besides an evaluation of numerous letters and material from the Gerhard Richter archive, the book includes conversations with the artist as well as several of his contemporaries. Dietmar Elger, director of the Gerhard Richter Archive, describes Richter’s daily studio routine and his creative process. Thanks to detailed background information, this book contributes to an understanding of Richter’s art in connection with his life.

This edition of the biography Gerhard Richter, Maler published in 2008 was slightly revised to include details of more recent events in Richter’s life.

Gerhard Richter has been widely regarded as a publicity shy artist. However, the biography Gerhard Richter. A Life in Painting gives an insight into Richter’s personal history as well as into the development of his artistic œuvre.
Besides an evaluation of numerous letters and material from the Gerhard Richter archive, the book includes conversations with the artist as well as several of his contemporaries. Dietmar Elger, director of the Gerhard Richter Archive, describes Richter’s daily studio routine and his creative process. Thanks to detailed background information, this book contributes to an understanding of Richter’s art in connection with his life.

This English translation of the biography Gerhard Richter, Maler by Dietmar Elger, published in 2009, was slightly revised for the Anglophone reader.

Catalogue accompanying the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Eight Gray at the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany.

This exhibition catalogue for the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin details Richter’s experiments with glass and mirrors, and their relationship to painting. Alluding to a modern interpretation of the momento mori, he tackles the apparent nothingness, the void through his large grey mirror pieces. Nearly 50 drawings from 1965 to the present, as well as studies for the Berlin installation have been included.

This publication concludes with an essay by Richter expert Benjamin H.D. Buchloh.

This catalogue raisonné records Richter’s works in the years 1993-2004.

In his work, Gerhard Richter calls into question painting's boundaries, and the labels applied to painting and theories connected with them. In his pictures based on photographs - blurred overpaintings, grey paintings, and landscape and abstract compositions - he makes clear that nothing perceived by our senses can ever be found in a picture. The outer world is not portrayable and the inner one resists any comparison. While his painted works based on photographs illustrate painting's superiority, his glass works - glass panes, paintings on glass, mirrors and sculptures - question the interaction of viewer and picture and, like the paintings, offer a window onto the world. This publication takes account of all the important stages of Richter's oeuvre.

This catalogue raisonné records Richter’s works in the years 1999-2004.

In his work, Gerhard Richter calls into question painting's boundaries, and the labels applied to painting and theories connected with them. In his pictures based on photographs - blurred overpaintings, grey paintings, and landscape and abstract compositions - he makes clear that nothing perceived by our senses can ever be found in a picture. The outer world is not portrayable and the inner one resists any comparison. While his painted works based on photographs illustrate painting's superiority, his glass works - glass panes, paintings on glass, mirrors and sculptures - question the interaction of viewer and picture and, like the paintings, offer a window onto the world. This publication takes account of all the important stages of Richter's oeuvre.

Gerhard Richter. Rot, Gelb, Blau by Helmut Friedel analyses and contextualises the paintings Red, Yellow and Blue [CR: 345/1-3] commissioned by BMW for their Munich headquarters, within the context of Richter’s œuvre.

During the years 1970 to 1980 Gerhard Richter frequently addressed paint as a means of painting and especially images of pastose brush strokes. This examination led to the large works Red, Yellow and Blue of 1973, each measuring 3 x 6 metres. The BMW headquarters themselves are also considered, as the space, for which Richter created the paintings.

A text contribution by Robert Storr places Red, Yellow, and Blue in an historical context and refers to the historical aspects that might have played a role in the creative process of the BMW works.