Gerhard Richter. Neue Bilder

Gerhard Richter (*1932 in Dresden) is one of the most significant contemporary artists. His work covers a period of more than five decades. On the occasion of his 85th birthday, the Gerhard Richter Archive of the Dresden State Art Collections is hosting an exhibition from May 20 to August 27, 2017 with new paintings by the artist. Initially, most of these works were already exhibited in Museum Ludwig, Cologne. Now the 24 paintings, supplemented with seven recently in 2017 created works, will be exhibited in the Albertinum.

The new “Abstrakten Bilder” [Abstract Paintings] since 2015 are strikingly different from his last paintings created five years ago, with its reserved and delicately modulated surfaces. The 31 paintings in total tie in with the works from the late 1980s and impress with their vibrant and fragmented multitude of colouration. In addition to his brush and squeegee, Richter also uses a knife to scratch animated traces into the surface of the image and reveals the multiple layers of oil paint by stripping it all the way back to the layers underneath. This process reminds us of the “Abstrakten Bilder” [Abstract Paintings] created around 1990. However, Richter no longer uses a spatula in parallel, vertical tracks, instead, he uses a knife free, gestural movements across the canvas. These works differ from all the other “Abstrakten Bilder” [Abstract Paintings] in their pictorial gesture and signify a new dynamic pictorial beginning.

Gerhard Richter is connected to the Dresden State Art Collections and his birthplace of Dresden in a unique way through the archive, which was founded here in 2006 and named after him. The artist repeatedly expresses this connection with special exhibitions. An extensive group of new STRIP paintings and works behind glass already had their premiere here in Dresden in 2013. Two years later, Gerhard Richter was presenting his Birkenau cycle in the Albertinum to the public for the first time.

As the most important research project of the Gerhard Richter Archive, the work is held in the catalogue of works (Catalogue Raisonné) of all paintings and sculptures by Gerhard Richter. After the publication of volumes 1, 3 and 4 (2011 to 2015), the second of a total of six volumes will be published for the exhibition by the Hatje Cantz Verlag.

Gerhard Richter Catalogue Raisonné. Volume 2 No. 199-388 1968-1976, edited by Dietmar Elger, text(s) by Dietmar Elger, German, English, 2017. 656 pages, 715 illustrations, Hatje Cantz Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7757-1979-7.