"I pursue no intentions, no system, no direction, I have no program, no style, no concern." With these words, Gerhard Richter, probably the best-known, most successful and most versatile contemporary artist , describes himself.
This apparent aimlessness is also reflected in the abstract object offered by us, which on the 7.5.82 is dated. Thus, our work comes from the most important creative period of Richter - the 1980s - which is still groundbreaking for his abstract painting. In the 1960s, Gerhard Richter achieved worldwide fame with his blurred, photorealistic paintings. Since the 1970s, abstract works are increasingly found in his multifaceted oeuvre.
Richter explained his switch to abstraction in a conversation with Nicolas Serota as part of the exhibition "Gerhard Richter - Panorama" at the Tate Gallery in London in 2011. Serota asked Richter why he turned to abstraction despite his enormous success as a figurative painter. The artist replied: "Maybe because I'm an insecure guy, a bit erratic. The abstract has always fascinated me. it has so much mystery,how much uncharted territory" (Gerhard Richter, in: Panorama, 2012, p. 21).
for him, abstract painting is not only a constant challenge, but a form in which many things can be expressed simultaneously, "my present, my reality, my problems, my difficulties and contradictions" (Dorothea Dietrich and Gerhard Richter, in: Gerhard Richter: An Interview, Print Collector's Newsletter, 16, 1985, p. 128).
Colors, Forms, Questions: Gerhard Richter's Continuous Search after the Essence of Painting
One element which repeatedly links Gerhard Richter's multi-layered oeuvre and runs how a common thread through his work is the supposedly simple and yet so complex question "What is painting?". With each object , the artist questions the nature of painting again and again and continuously analyzes his own medium. In his abstract works in particular, which are among the most sought-after works on the international auction market, he leaves the result largely to chance by using tools how spatulas, palette knives or squeegees.
His abstract works not focus on Richter's personal signature, but on chance, the superimposition of colors and , above all, the inherent effect of the material. These abstract works are complete "[...] if I can do nothing more about it, if it surpasses me, i.e. has something where I can not longer so keep up."(Gerhard Richter, in: Peter Sager, Mit der Farbe denken: G. R., Zeitmagazin, 49, 1986).
on the object offered here Gerhard Richter on small format, different layers of paint on top of each other on carries the light cardboard on. The superimposition of yellow, red, gray and white layers of paint creates an illusionistic pictorial space with an intense effect. on just 11.3 cm x 16 cm Gerhard Richter creates a two-dimensional object , which captivates with its colorfulness and at the same time suggests an exciting spatiality.
This play of iridescent colors, between flatness and three-dimensionality makes the artwork a unique color space modulation and offers a real visual pleasure for the viewer. Gerhard Richter succeeds it also here to create a new form of abstract painting, which allows an independent visual experience and the boundaries of the medium of painting explored anew.
Gerhard Richter - Auction on 02. December 2023
We are therefore particularly pleased in our Auction for Modern Art on 02. December, this exceptional object by Gerhard Richter auction to be allowed. His object is called at a limit price of € 28,000, we assume a significant increase!
