Gerhard Richter : abstraction / edited by Ortrud Westheider and Michael Philipp ; exhibition, Dietmar Elger, Ortrud Westheider, with Valerie Hortolani ; with contributions by Janice Bretz [and seven others] ; translations from the German, Steven Lindberg, Allison Moseley, Kate Vanovitch.
Catalog of an exhibition held at Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany, June 30 - October 21, 2018. "A Publication series by the Museum Barberini." Includes bibliographical references. "Gerhard Richter: Abstraction" : June 30-October 21, 2018, Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany.
Contents:
Foreword -- Biography of Gerhard Richter / Dietmar Elger and Valerie Hortolani. Abstraction and semblance in Gerhard Richter's oeuvre / Dietmar Elger -- Grids and readymades: Gerhard Richter's color chart paintings in the 1960s and 1970s / Hubertus Butin -- "In painting thinking is painting": the primacy of form in Gerhard Richter's art / Armin Zweite -- Richter's squeegee: the artist and his tools / Matthias Kruger -- Catalog of exhibited works. Structures and illusions: abstract works in the 1960s / Valerie Hortolani -- Chance and concept: color charts / Dietmar Elger -- Gestures and blendings: inpaintings and gray paintings / Valerie Hortolani -- Blurrings and close-ups: details and early abstract paintings / Dietmar Elger -- Nature and materials: abstract landscapes / Dietmar Elger -- Paints and layers: abstract paintings from 1986 to 2005 / Kerstin Kuster -- Transparent and reflected: mirrors, glass, and strips / Janice Bretz and Kerstin Kuster -- New abstract paintings from 2005 to 2017 / Kerstin Kuster -- Biography of Gerhard Richter / Dietmar Elger and Valerie Hortolani.
Summary:
This publication is the first to focus solely on the abstract strategies and processes contained in Gerhard Richter's body of work. In the early 1960s, the artist began to call painting into question, an exploration that continues to occupy him to this day. In the 1970s, he responded to the rejection of painting by creating a series of monochrome works in gray. Moreover, he viewed the color gray as a means of addressing political themes without depicting them in an idealized manner. In his Inpainting series of the 1970s, Richter made brushstrokes and the application of paint his subject. In other works, he photographed small details from his palette and transferred them onto large canvases in a photorealistic manner. In his color charts, he subjected painting to an objective process by leaving the arrangement of the colors to chance. Since 1976, Richter has created a series of abstract works by applying paint with a brush, scraper, and palette knife, alternating between conscious decision-making and random processes. "Gerhard Richter has explored the possibilities of painting since the 1960s, and abstraction is one of his key themes. This publication is the first to focus on this central aspect of Richter's work. It contextualizes the artistic development and intellectual continuity of one of the most significant artists of our time. Over five decades, Richter has created diverse groups of works that are unified by recurring elements. By deliberately incorporating chance, he minimizes the artist's conscious control of the painting process. Richter emphasizes a grid structure over spontaneous creativity and draws a squeegee across entire canvasses. He eschews subjectivity and references outside of art. These abstract works function on their own terms." --publisher's desription, lower cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.