Gerhard Richter (b. 1932, Germany) began his life and artistic career in what became East Germany. In 1961 he defected to West Germany, where he embarked on an extensive artistic career. Although many of his works are in fact objects, Richter considers himself to be a painter and part of the new European painting, which corresponds with artistic movements such as pop-art, minimalism, conceptualism and Fluxus. Richter’s works move dialectically between abstract and hyper-realism – so, for example, his abstract paintings are in fact figurative paintings of an abstract image; in contrast, his ‘seemingly’ realistic paintings are abstracted as they make their way to the canvas. Richter gained renown when he was declared a number of times as the most influential living artist by Art Review, and has shown extensive solo exhibitions in leading international museums.
Related exhibition: Melting Walls, Prima Facie
Further information: www.gerhard-richter.com