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Lot Essay
“All that I am trying to do in each picture is to bring together the most disparate and mutually contradictory elements, alive and viable, in the greatest possible freedom.” Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild is a captivating testament to the timeless nature of the artist’s signature technique – one which has left an indelible mark on contemporary art, and on the very act of painting, itself. As Pollock’s drips radically altered the fabric of what painting could be in the post-war era, so too did Richter’s adoption of the squeegee constitute a new frontier in the possibilities of painting for the 21st century. Painted in 1995, the present lot is a mature rendition of Richter’s electrifying squeegee technique, through which the artist challenges the painterly surface to accomplish a complex depth achieved only through gestural ferocity and the element of chance. The result is an outbreak of dramatic ruptures to the surface, revealing the painting's intricate subterranean world. The eye-catching deep purple hues are complimented by swaths of a cool and sometimes icy gray, reminiscent perhaps of a placid lake in winter. Indeed, despite its resolute abstractness, the painting is nonetheless atmospheric and somehow nostalgic. This contrast creates a particularly mesmerizing and evocative effect, which is only heightened by the painting’s intimate scale. Evident through the deep tonal wells and rhythmic bands of thick paint, Abstraktes Bild is a prime example of the exquisite dynamism achieved through Richter’s singular abstractions.
Richter's passion for art developed in the aftermath of World War II. With strong encouragement from his mother, he cultivated his creativity initially through photography and drawing. He didn’t begin formal art studies until 1951. After years of refining his personal style, he introduced his celebrated Abstraktes Bild series in 1991. His careful technique involved layering thick paint and using a squeegee to expose a striking, gem-like underlayer. This innovative approach was particularly significant during a time when mass reproduction raised questions about the relevance of painting, as the Abstraktes Bild series highlighted the unique beauty of gesture and execution, emphasizing the complexity and uniqueness of each abstract work. Indeed, the present lot radiates a jewel-like intensity, featuring deep indigo purple accented by bands of viridian green, while flashes of pale orange illuminate the left side of the canvas. The underlying silvery gray creates a steely contrast to the vivid colors, resulting in a composition that feels both unpredictable and harmonious. The present lot represents a pure and compelling articulation of the technique which solidified Richter’s reputation as of the most influential living painters.
Prior to his breakthrough with the Abstraktes Bilder in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Richter had a complex relationship to abstraction. His struggle with non-representational painting—and what it meant for his identity as a painter—is alluded to in the following quotation: “If the execution works, this is only because I partly destroy it, or because it works in spite of everything…I often find this intolerable and even impossible to accept, because, as a thinking, planning human being, it humiliates me to find out that I am so powerless…My only consolation is to tell myself that I did actually make the pictures – even though they treat me any way they like and somehow just take shape. Because it’s still up to me to determine the point at which they are finished…” (G. Richter, quoted in A. Borchardt-Hume, “‘Dreh Dich Nicht Um’: Don’t Turn Around: Richter’s Paintings of the Late 1980s” in Gerhard Richter: Panorama, exh. cat., Tate Modern, London, 2011, p. 172). Yet, the tension that exists in Richter’s relationship to abstraction is the very tension that brings about the quiet catharsis in this canvas. In the present lot, one can not only perceive the literal push and pull of the squeegee across the canvas, but also the metaphorical push and pull of the artist’s complicated relationship to his practice.
Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild is a captivating testament to the timeless nature of the artist’s signature technique – one which has left an indelible mark on contemporary art, and on the very act of painting, itself. As Pollock’s drips radically altered the fabric of what painting could be in the post-war era, so too did Richter’s adoption of the squeegee constitute a new frontier in the possibilities of painting for the 21st century. Painted in 1995, the present lot is a mature rendition of Richter’s electrifying squeegee technique, through which the artist challenges the painterly surface to accomplish a complex depth achieved only through gestural ferocity and the element of chance. The result is an outbreak of dramatic ruptures to the surface, revealing the painting's intricate subterranean world. The eye-catching deep purple hues are complimented by swaths of a cool and sometimes icy gray, reminiscent perhaps of a placid lake in winter. Indeed, despite its resolute abstractness, the painting is nonetheless atmospheric and somehow nostalgic. This contrast creates a particularly mesmerizing and evocative effect, which is only heightened by the painting’s intimate scale. Evident through the deep tonal wells and rhythmic bands of thick paint, Abstraktes Bild is a prime example of the exquisite dynamism achieved through Richter’s singular abstractions.
Richter's passion for art developed in the aftermath of World War II. With strong encouragement from his mother, he cultivated his creativity initially through photography and drawing. He didn’t begin formal art studies until 1951. After years of refining his personal style, he introduced his celebrated Abstraktes Bild series in 1991. His careful technique involved layering thick paint and using a squeegee to expose a striking, gem-like underlayer. This innovative approach was particularly significant during a time when mass reproduction raised questions about the relevance of painting, as the Abstraktes Bild series highlighted the unique beauty of gesture and execution, emphasizing the complexity and uniqueness of each abstract work. Indeed, the present lot radiates a jewel-like intensity, featuring deep indigo purple accented by bands of viridian green, while flashes of pale orange illuminate the left side of the canvas. The underlying silvery gray creates a steely contrast to the vivid colors, resulting in a composition that feels both unpredictable and harmonious. The present lot represents a pure and compelling articulation of the technique which solidified Richter’s reputation as of the most influential living painters.
Prior to his breakthrough with the Abstraktes Bilder in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Richter had a complex relationship to abstraction. His struggle with non-representational painting—and what it meant for his identity as a painter—is alluded to in the following quotation: “If the execution works, this is only because I partly destroy it, or because it works in spite of everything…I often find this intolerable and even impossible to accept, because, as a thinking, planning human being, it humiliates me to find out that I am so powerless…My only consolation is to tell myself that I did actually make the pictures – even though they treat me any way they like and somehow just take shape. Because it’s still up to me to determine the point at which they are finished…” (G. Richter, quoted in A. Borchardt-Hume, “‘Dreh Dich Nicht Um’: Don’t Turn Around: Richter’s Paintings of the Late 1980s” in Gerhard Richter: Panorama, exh. cat., Tate Modern, London, 2011, p. 172). Yet, the tension that exists in Richter’s relationship to abstraction is the very tension that brings about the quiet catharsis in this canvas. In the present lot, one can not only perceive the literal push and pull of the squeegee across the canvas, but also the metaphorical push and pull of the artist’s complicated relationship to his practice.