Lot Essay
In discussing the process of creating 1024 Farben, Gerhard Richter stated, "In order to represent all extant colour shades in one painting, I worked out a system which--starting from the three primaries, plus grey--made possible a continual subdivision (differentiation) through equal gradations: 4 x 4 = 16 x 4 = 64 x 4 = 256 x 4 = 1024. The multiplier 4 was necessary because I wanted to keep the image size, the square size and the number of squares in a constant proportion to each other. To use more than 1024 tones (4096, for instance) seemed pointless, since the difference between one shade and the next would no longer have been detectable. The arrangement of the colours on the squares was done by a random process, to obtain a diffuse, undifferentiated overall effect, combined with stimulating detail. The rigid grid precludes the generation of figurations, although with an effort these can be detected. This aspect of artificial naturalism fascinated me--as does the fact that, if I had painted all the possible permutations, light would have taken more than 400 billion years to travel from the first painting to the last. I wanted to paint four large, colourful paintings" (G. Richter, The Daily Practice of Painting: Writings 1962-1993, London 1995, pp. 81-82).
Richter first experimented with the idea of Color Chart paintings in 1966, deriving his images from commercial paint sample cards, at times varying the sequences of colors used. This arbitrary arrangement is superceded by a more severe system, once Richter establishes that color follows comprehensive rules which does away with the reference to the ready-made color chart. In 1971, after a lengthy pause from the theme, Richter returned to it and brought it to a consistent conclusion between 1973-1974. Once he had done away with the primary model of the color chart, and instead randomly distributed square fields of differentiated colors onto the square canvas. The concept had replaced the model.
The Color Chart paintings are amongst Richter's most visibly conceptual works, though in essence they share much of the same concerns voiced in his photographically sourced work. Representation and the implications of painting within a world of mechanically reproducable images remains a constant issue running through the artist's oeuvre. Defining the practice of painting at a time in which Conceptual Art and Minimalism were attempting to call its validity into questions, Richter found a characteristically elegant solution. By denying the painting the visible traits of the artist's factura, in a sense scientifically detaching himself from the creative process and exploring freely all facets of visual representation, Richter's work transcends style.
Richter once wrote, "I pursue no objectives, no system, no tendency; I have no programme, no style, no direction. I have no time for specialized concerns, working themes, or variations that lead to mastery. I steer clear of definitions. I don't know what I want. I am inconsistent, non-commital, passive; I like the indefinite, the boundless, I like continual uncertainty. Other qualities may be condusive to acheivement, publicity, success, but they are all outworn--as outworn as ideologies, opinions, concepts and names for things. Now that there are no priests or philosophers left, artists are the most important people in the world. That is the only thing that interests me" (ibid., p. 58).
Richter first experimented with the idea of Color Chart paintings in 1966, deriving his images from commercial paint sample cards, at times varying the sequences of colors used. This arbitrary arrangement is superceded by a more severe system, once Richter establishes that color follows comprehensive rules which does away with the reference to the ready-made color chart. In 1971, after a lengthy pause from the theme, Richter returned to it and brought it to a consistent conclusion between 1973-1974. Once he had done away with the primary model of the color chart, and instead randomly distributed square fields of differentiated colors onto the square canvas. The concept had replaced the model.
The Color Chart paintings are amongst Richter's most visibly conceptual works, though in essence they share much of the same concerns voiced in his photographically sourced work. Representation and the implications of painting within a world of mechanically reproducable images remains a constant issue running through the artist's oeuvre. Defining the practice of painting at a time in which Conceptual Art and Minimalism were attempting to call its validity into questions, Richter found a characteristically elegant solution. By denying the painting the visible traits of the artist's factura, in a sense scientifically detaching himself from the creative process and exploring freely all facets of visual representation, Richter's work transcends style.
Richter once wrote, "I pursue no objectives, no system, no tendency; I have no programme, no style, no direction. I have no time for specialized concerns, working themes, or variations that lead to mastery. I steer clear of definitions. I don't know what I want. I am inconsistent, non-commital, passive; I like the indefinite, the boundless, I like continual uncertainty. Other qualities may be condusive to acheivement, publicity, success, but they are all outworn--as outworn as ideologies, opinions, concepts and names for things. Now that there are no priests or philosophers left, artists are the most important people in the world. That is the only thing that interests me" (ibid., p. 58).