Literature

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.

Catalogue accompanying the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Landschaften at Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hanover, Germany (October 4, 1998 – January 3, 1999).

As a classic theme in painting Richter has drawn landscapes since 1968 when they first appeared as an independent work group in his oeuvre. Like no other motif, landscapes have occupied Richter over a long period. This volume affords an unparalleled insight into Richter's landscape paintings, in which landscape and abstraction are not opposed to each other, but appear instead as intertwined strands in the painter's view and his experience of reality.

Catalogue accompanying the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Landschaften at Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hanover, Germany (October 4, 1998 – January 3, 1999).

As a classic theme in painting Richter has drawn landscapes since 1968 when they first appeared as an independent work group in his oeuvre. Like no other motif, landscapes have occupied Richter over a long period. This volume affords an unparalleled insight into Richter's landscape paintings, in which landscape and abstraction are not opposed to each other, but appear instead as intertwined strands in the painter's view and his experience of reality.

For nearly 40 years Gerhard Richter has been examining the ways we perceive reality and the effects of different forms of representation on the viewer. 'For me,' he has said, 'there is no difference between a landscape and an abstract painting. In my view, the term 'realism' makes no sense.'

Richter began painting on photographs in 1989 as a way of joining seemingly opposing values: the tactile paint mark that is actually abstract and the illusionistic depiction of real space created by the action of light on film. This particular volume, Gerhard Richter: Florence, contains a series of small snapshots of the view outside Richter's Cologne studio as well as street scenes in Florence, which he altered by applying oil paint with a palette knife. In some images, he reinforces the intense colour of the photograph; in others, the paint nearly obliterates the scene. The artist, who originally conceived the project for a set of CDs (thus the chosen square format), overthrows normal expectations. The numerical dates that serve as titles are completely unrelated to the dates when the photographs were taken or painted. The size of the reproductions is slightly larger than the originals and the rhythmic blotting out of chunks of a view creates a miniature abstract beauty with an almost jewel-like quality based on its small size.
 

For nearly 40 years Gerhard Richter has been examining the ways we perceive reality and the effects of different forms of representation on the viewer. 'For me,' he has said, 'there is no difference between a landscape and an abstract painting. In my view, the term 'realism' makes no sense.'

Richter began painting on photographs in 1989 as a way of joining seemingly opposing values: the tactile paint mark that is actually abstract and the illusionistic depiction of real space created by the action of light on film. This particular volume, Gerhard Richter: Florence, contains a series of small snapshots of the view outside Richter's Cologne studio as well as street scenes in Florence, which he altered by applying oil paint with a palette knife. In some images, he reinforces the intense colour of the photograph; in others, the paint nearly obliterates the scene. The artist, who originally conceived the project for a set of CDs (thus the chosen square format), overthrows normal expectations. The numerical dates that serve as titles are completely unrelated to the dates when the photographs were taken or painted. The size of the reproductions is slightly larger than the originals and the rhythmic blotting out of chunks of a view creates a miniature abstract beauty with an almost jewel-like quality based on its small size.

Catalogue accompanying the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Landschaften at Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hanover, Germany (October 4, 1998 – January 3, 1999).

As a classic theme in painting Richter has drawn landscapes since 1968 when they first appeared as an independent work group in his oeuvre. Like no other motif, landscapes have occupied Richter over a long period. This volume affords an unparalleled insight into Richter's landscape paintings, in which landscape and abstraction are not opposed to each other, but appear instead as intertwined strands in the painter's view and his experience of reality.

Catalogue accompanying the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Landschaften at Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hanover, Germany (October 4, 1998 – January 3, 1999).

As a classic theme in painting Richter has drawn landscapes since 1968 when they first appeared as an independent work group in his oeuvre. Like no other motif, landscapes have occupied Richter over a long period. This volume affords an unparalleled insight into Richter's landscape paintings, in which landscape and abstraction are not opposed to each other, but appear instead as intertwined strands in the painter's view and his experience of reality.