Postwar German Art in the Collection

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.

The book Gerhard Richter. Zufall. The Cologne Cathedral Window, and 4900 Colours examines the creative process behind Richter’s work at Cologne Cathedral [CR: 900]. For almost 4 years he was engaged in the task of creating a contemporary glass window to be installed in the south transept of this sacred gothic building.

Besides analysing the design process, reference is also made to Richter’s colour field paintings of the 1960s and 1970s, which the window is based upon. Images of the work are accompanied by three essays that shed light on the principle of randomness, which played a prominent part in the creation of the Cologne window and 4900 Colours [CR: 902]. Alongside this, the notion of an abstract design being used for a sacred glass window is also discussed from a theological point of view.

Contributions by Stephan Diederich, Barbara Schock-Werner, Hubertus Butin and Birgit Pelzer.

The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Abstrakte Bilder at Museum Ludwig, Cologne and Haus der Kunst, Munich. The exhibitions were dedicated to Gerhard Richter’s abstract pictures, which form approximately one third of his œuvre.

However, this publication is not an overview of the development of his abstract works, but rather singles out selected large format works for discussion. These works, executed between 1986 and 2006, show a similar complexity that originates from a multitude of layers of paint.

Edited by Ulrich Wilmes, with text contributions by Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Beate Söntgen and Gregor Stemmrich.

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.

Gerhard Richter. Portraits is the first publication that focuses solely on Richter’s portraits, many of which have now gained both recognition and veneration across the globe.

In his essay, Stefan Gronert discusses the position of the portrait in the artist’s oeuvre. He begins by looking at Richter’s early black and white pictures, then moving on to his more recent colour charts. The artist has explored this subject through various media, including painting, graphic reproduction, drawings, photography and film. Research conducted for this publication unearthed portraits in the artist’s archive that were hitherto unknown; now published in this monograph for the first time.
In his essay, Hubert Butin examines some of these newly discovered works; in particular focusing on Richter’s portrait photography of the 1960s.
 

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.