Gerhard Richter: Paintings from 2003–2005

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This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition Richter en France at the Musée de Grenoble in 2009.
Both the exhibition and catalogue are dedicated to works by Gerhard Richter that belong to public collections and museums in France. The artworks offer an insight into Richter’s different creative periods. Despite an emphasis on abstract paintings of the 1980s, paintings after photographs, grey monochrome pictures and drawings are also taken into account.

The text contributions provide an overview of Richter's œuvre and address grey paintings and glass works, as well as drawings separately.

Text contributions by Guy Tosatto, Jean-Pierre Criqui and Jonas Storsve.

In this publication, eminent American scholar and curator Robert Storr offers an authoritative consideration of September, Richter’s 2005 painting made in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center of 11 September 2001, asking “what is the meaning of a single, small, almost abstract depiction of one of the most consequential occurrences in recent world history?”

Opening with a vivid personal account of being in New York that day and paying particular attention to the role of the media, Storr deftly explores the geo-political context of the attacks, capturing the effects of the atrocity on a deeply human level while navigating the complex web of political, social, religious and cultural factors that it embodied and the discourse it has provoked.

Along with an erudite analysis of the creation of the painting, Storr’s treatise develops by means of an insightful study into the themes of terrorism, murder, violence and war in Richter’s oeuvre, from the bombing of cities during World War II to the controversial cycle of paintings October 18, 1977 (1988) depicting West German terrorists, the Baader-Meinhof group.

In 2009 September was gifted to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In making a valuable contribution to the understanding of a significant work by one of the world’s foremost artists, this publication demonstrates how vital painting and its readings can be for engaging with the complexities of major events in the world today.

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.