Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter is one of the most important artists of our time. This solo-exhibition will show Richter’s works from the past forty years of his artistic career, since the 1960s. This is the first time in Japan to have an exhibition showing more than fifty major works of Richter, including the ones loaned by the artist himself.

Gerhard Richter was born in Dresden, in former East Germany, in 1932. He moved to Düsseldorf, in former West Germany, right before the Berlin Wall was erected to separate his country. He now lives in Cologne. In 2002, he had a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and a solo exhibition in Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen at the beginning of 2005, which had as many as 110,000 visitors. Richter is considered to be one of the most important artists in the world.

Richter has an astonishing variety of artistic styles: Photo-Painting, where he precisely reproduces photographic images from newspapers and magazines and gives the finishing touch of a delicate blur, the Colour Chart Series, geometric arrangements of square and rectangular colourful chips, the Grey Painting Series and Landscapes that remind us of German Romantic paintings, Abstract Paintings with vibrant colour combinations, and works that use transparent and painted glass and mirrors.

These works seem to be incompatible as far as common artistic goals. They, however, have in common Richter’s consistent philosophy to pursue potential in paintings. Through his original two-dimensional works that blur the borders between “photography and paintings,” “figurative and abstract,” “reality and virtual reality,” Richter continues his pursuit of “vision.” His works can be perceived as “mirrors” to reflect upon our world where reality and image are equally present in our contemporary life dominated by media such as the Internet.

Most of the works in this exhibition will be shown in Japan for the first time, including six new oil paintings. This will give us a very good opportunity to explore different aspects of Richter’s art, which continues to evolve.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EXHIBITION

1. An Extraordinary Solo-exhibition of the Contemporary German Master Gerhard Richter is a contemporary German master, one of the most important painters in our time. In the 20th century, Germany became the epicentre of artistic movements such as Bauhaus and Expressionism, and has fostered important artists such as Joseph Beuys and Anselm Kiefer after World War II. Richter can also be positioned in this historical context. He was born in former East Germany and moved to West Germany right before the Berlin Wall was erected. His artistic career coincides with the history of the 20th century. This is the first time in Japan to have an exhibition that includes as many as fifty major works of Richter’s, including the artist’s own collection.

2. The History and Future of Painting Revealed in Richter’s Works Richter says that painting is an act and that act should not be restricted. The major theme that Gerhard Richter has continued to pursue has been the act of painting itself. He has been reinventing his own styles: Photo-Painting from the 1960s, Landscape paintings that reminds one of German Romantic paintings, and Abstract Paintings from the 1980s and 1990s. By looking back on the various themes and styles in his career, we can experience the different genres of paintings. In other words, the artistic history of Gerhard Richter is the history of 20th century painting. Further than that, he has discovered new possibilities in paintings, and added new experiments to look into the future of painting.

3. The Major Exhibition in the Event, Deutschland in Japan Deutschland in Japan is celebrated in Japan in 2005 and 2006, introducing contemporary life and multi-culture within Germany. A number of outstanding events in the fields of culture, economy, and science are being carried out, offering many opportunities to get to know different aspects of Germany. More than three hundred events are happening all over Japan for Deutschland in Japan. Gerhard Richter: Painting as Mirror is one of the related events. With the support from the artist himself, the state of North Rhine- Westphalia, and Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, we have an opportunity to introduce one of the most important contemporary German artists.

4. Special Works That Will Be Exclusively Shown at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa Eight Grey is one of the major works of Richter’s. Eight large (3.2 m high and 2 m wide) grey sheets of glass is installed in the rotunda gallery. Because of the size, this work closely relates itself to the site, environment, and architecture. Eight Grey was created in 2001 for 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa when the building was still in the process of being designed. These works are two-dimensional yet become an installation piece as well. As eight glass sheets cover the space, the glass itself becomes a wall that creates space. Eight Grey is included in Painting as Mirror at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.

Gerhard Richter: Painting as Mirror
Kurator: Armin Zweite

Stationen:
12.02.05 - 16.05.05 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen, Düsseldorf
04.06.05 - 21.08.05 Lenbachhaus, München
03.09.05 - 26.10.05 21st Century Museum, Kanazawa / Japan
03.11.05 - 22.01.06 Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Sakura / Japan