Who is
Gerhard Richter?

Gerhard Richter (*1932 in Dresden) is one of Germany’s most important contemporary artists. After completing his studies at the Dresden Art Academy, he fled to West Germany in 1961, shortly before the Berlin Wall was built, and continued his studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. There, he developed his style, which ranges from figuration to abstraction. As early as 1972, he was represented in the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale with the group “48 Portraits”.

Richter became known for his photorealistic paintings, which depict blurred motifs, as well as for his colorful abstract works, often using the squeegee technique. His oeuvre encompasses painting, photography, glasswork, and sculpture.

Richter’s international artistic recognition began to gain momentum in the 1980s. In 1993/1994, a comprehensive retrospective was held, which was shown in Paris, Bonn, Stockholm, and Madrid. And in 2002, the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a retrospective to mark his 70th birthday. And now the next one, 2025, for the now 93-year-old.

He is considered a versatile artist who cannot be assigned to a clear style and is one of the most expensive living painters in the world.

Three of his most important works are perhaps

“Ema (Nude on a Staircase)” (1966), which you can view in the exhibition. It is a photorealistic image of his then-wife. It appears like a blurred photograph, but is actually a painting. It is so groundbreaking because Richter closely intertwined photography and painting here, making the painterly element visible again through blurring.

“October 18, 1977” (1988), also on display, is a cycle of paintings depicting the dead of the RAF in their cells. It is one of his outstanding works because he depicted a politically charged subject in blurred, almost ghostly images, questioning memory, truth, and perception.

Abstract squeegee paintings (from the 1980s, e.g., “Abstract Painting 809-4,” 1994). We’re not sure whether we’ll see these in the exhibition. We’ll keep you updated. What does squeegee mean? In this technique, different layers of paint are applied on top of each other and later scraped off with a scraper. This causes deeper layers of paint to reappear, creating an abstract image. This was very innovative for its time because it blends chance and control, creating a depth that resembles landscapes or emotions, even though they are completely abstract.