Exhibition: ‘Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs’ Gerhard Richter Archive at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Exhibition dates: 26th August – 19th November 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '15. April 2015' 2015

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
15. April 2015
2015
Oil on colour photography
11.3 x 16.6cm
On loan from the Gerhard Richter Art Foundation
© Gerhard Richter 2023
Foto: Simon Vogel, Köln

 

 

The first of two postings on the work of one of my favourite artists, the great Gerhard Richter – this time on his miraculous overpainted photographs, abstractions which hover between one medium and the next, thither and yon.

“Richter began these works in 1986. All of the formats exhibited are unusually small, each being about 10 x 15cm. The basis for his pictures was ordinary photographs, most of which he took himself and had developed in a conventional photo lab. The photos are not artistic in any way. They are snapshots of family celebrations and trips, people, landscape or architecture, including a view of Dresden. The Overpainted Photographs are intimately linked to Richter’s artistic works. Every day, after working on his large-format paintings in his studio, Richter dragged the photographs through the remaining wet paint on the squeegee. The result depended heavily on chance, and surprising new realities were formed.” (Press release from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden)

Creative juxtapositions enlighten these new realities: the smeared stalagmite of green and yellow paint in 8. Juni 2016 (8) (2016, below) echoes the vertiginous mountainous landscape beyond; curtains of paint in 4. March 2003 (2003 ,below) hide sunbathing bodies whilst echoing the breaking waves in the background; and coloured skeins rain down on a tower in 29.1.2000 (Firenze) (2000, below) portending its destruction.

These active interventions, action photo-paintings, gestural abstractions are spontaneous in form and intelligent in conception. They combine elements of both mediums to create interstitial spaces, spaces that promote an evolution in the way in which we conceive of space,1 a world of liquid transformations realised through shifts between photo and picture, reality and presence, memory and awareness – a coexistence between a conscious and unconscious way of perceiving which sustains the mystery of the object… and the world.

Bravo!

Dr Marcus Bunyan

 

1/ Adapted from Kovac, Tom. “Curve Gallery,” in van Schaik, Leon (ed.,). Architectural Design. Vol. 72. No. 2. (‘Poetics in Architecture’). London: John Wiley and Sons, 2002, p. 60.


Many thankx to the Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.

 

 

In 1991 Gerhard Richter commented on the creation of these works:

“Photography has almost no reality; it is almost a hundred per cent picture. And painting always has reality: you can touch the paint; it has presence; but it always yields a picture – no matter whether good or bad. That’s all theory. It’s no good. I once took small photographs and then smeared them with paint. That partly resolved the problem, and it’s really good – better than anything I could ever say on the subject.”


Text from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden website

 

“What works for me about the series is the balance between the paint and the photograph beneath it. There are works in the series where the two seem to work together and others where they fight for primacy. The act of adding paint is a simple gesture but somehow Richter uses it to add a layer of complexity to the image. We are left with hints about the photographs and can, to an extent, imagine the gestures used to obscure them – certainly the texture of the paint offers clues – but piecing together the evidence provides a tantalisingly incomplete picture. For me, the work is all the stronger for that.”


Ann Jones. “Veils of abstraction,” on the Image Object Text website 22/09/2012 [Online] Cited 12/10/2023

 

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing at left, '8 March 2000 (Firenze)'; at second right bottom, '13.5.07'; at at top right, '14.5.07'

 

Installation views of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing in the bottom image at left, 8 March 2000 (Firenze) (below); at second right bottom, 13.5.07 (below); at at top right, 14.5.07 (below)
© Gerhard Richter 2023, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Foto: Klemens Renner

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '8 March 2000 (Firenze)' 2000

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
8 March 2000 (Firenze)
2000
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '13.5.07' 2007

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
13.5.07
2007
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '14.5.07' 2007

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
14.5.07
2007
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

 

The exhibition at Albertinum shows a selection of Gerhard Richter’s Overpainted Photographs for the first time in Dresden. 36 of the selected works come from the holdings of the Gerhard Richter Kunststiftung, founded by the artist in 2019; 36 additional works are loans from private collections.

Gerhard Richter’s oeuvre from the past six decades is shaped by a dialogue and a confrontation between figurative and abstract visual strategies. In no other workseries by the artist do the two styles enter into a symbiosis like the one in the small-format Overpainted Photographs. Richter began these works in 1986. All the formats exhibited are unusually small, each approximately 10 × 15cm.

In 1991 Gerhard Richter commented on the creation of these works:

“Photography has almost no reality; it is almost a hundred per cent picture. And painting always has reality: you can touch the paint; it has presence; but it always yields a picture – no matter whether good or bad. That’s all theory. It’s no good. I once took small photographs and then smeared them with paint. That partly resolved the problem, and it’s really good – better than anything I could ever say on the subject.”

Standard photographs usually taken by the artist himself and developed at an ordinary photo lab serve as the foundation for these works. The shots themselves are entirely lacking in artistic quality. They are snapshot motifs of family celebrations and excursions, people, landscapes, or architectures, including a view of Dresden.

The Overpainted Photographs are closely linked to his painterly oeuvre. After his daily work on the large paintings in the studio, Richter pulled these photographs through the remaining wet paint on the squeegee. In this way, the result of this action is strongly determined by coincidence and surprising new realities emerge. With the declared end of his painterly work in 2017, Gerhard Richter also concluded work on the Overpainted Photographs.

Text from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden website

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

 

Installation views of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
© Gerhard Richter 2023, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Foto: Klemens Renner

 

 

As a Dresden first, the Gerhard Richter Archiv, run by Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden is exhibiting a selection of Gerhard Richter’s Overpainted Photographs. Of the 72 works on show in the Albertinum, 36 are from the holdings of the Gerhard Richter Kunststiftung, a foundation established by the artist in 2019, and 36 from private collections.

Richter’s oeuvre of the past six decades is marked by interacting and opposing representational and abstract artistic strategies. In his small-format Overpainted Photographs, these two styles develop a symbiosis that is stronger than in any of the artist’s other groups of works.

In 1991, Gerhard Richter described how the works came about: “Photography has almost no reality; it is almost a hundred per cent picture. And painting always has reality: you can touch the paint; it has presence; but it always yields a picture – no matter whether good or bad. That’s all the theory. It’s no good. I once took some small photographs and then smeared them with paint. That partly resolved the problem, and it’s really good – better than anything I could ever say on the subject.”

Richter began these works in 1986. All of the formats exhibited are unusually small, each being about 10 x 15cm. The basis for his pictures was ordinary photographs, most of which he took himself and had developed in a conventional photo lab. The photos are not artistic in any way. They are snapshots of family celebrations and trips, people, landscape or architecture, including a view of Dresden.

The Overpainted Photographs are intimately linked to Richter’s artistic works. Every day, after working on his large-format paintings in his studio, Richter dragged the photographs through the wet paint left on his doctor blade. The result depended heavily on chance, and surprising new realities were formed. In 2017, Gerhard Richter announced his retirement from painting, and at the same time the end of his work on the Overpainted Photographs.

A catalogue is being published to accompany the exhibition. Dietmar Elger: Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photos, published by Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Buchhandlung Walther & Franz König, Cologne, 2023, 120 pages, 77 colour illustrations, 3 b&w illustrations. ISBN 978-3-7533-0538-7

Press release from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '8. Juni 2016 (6)' 2016

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
8. Juni 2016 (6)
2016
Oil on colour photography
16.9 x 12.7cm
On loan from a private collection
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '8. Juni 2016 (8)' 2016

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
8. Juni 2016 (8)
2016
Oil on colour photography
16.75 x 12.6cm
On loan from the Gerhard Richter Art Foundation
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing at top left, '26. Nov 2014'; at top second right, '25. Jan 2015'; at top right, '15. April 2015' (top of posting); at bottom second left, '28. Dec 2014'; and at bottom right, '28.7.15 (2)'

 

Installation view of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing at top left, 26. Nov 2014 (below); at top second right, 25. Jan 2015 (below); at top right, 15. April 2015 (top of posting); at bottom second left, 28. Dec 2014 (below); and at bottom right, 28.7.15 (2) (below)
© Gerhard Richter 2023, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Foto: Klemens Renner

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '26. Nov 2014' 2014

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
26. Nov 2014
2014
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '25. Jan 2015' 2015

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
25. Jan 2015
2015
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '28. Dec 2014' 2014

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
28. Dec 2014
2014
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '28.7.15 (2)' 2015

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
28.7.15 (2)
2015
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing at left, '4.12.06'; at at right, '21.2.08'

 

Installation view of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing at left, 4.12.06 (below); at at right, 21.2.08 (below)
© Gerhard Richter 2023, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Foto: Klemens Renner

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '4.12.06' 2006

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
4.12.06
2006
Oil on colour photography
12.5 x 16.6cm
On loan from a private collection
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '21.2.08' 2008

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
21.2.08
2008
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '11.2.98' 1998

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
11.2.98
1998
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs' at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing at left, '28. April 2015'; at second left, '29. April 2015'; and at right, '14.7.15 (3)'

 

Installation view of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Overpainted Photographs at Albertinum at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden showing at left, 28. April 2015 (below); at second left, 29. April 2015 (below); and at right, 14.7.15 (3) (below)
© Gerhard Richter 2023, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Foto: Klemens Renner

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '28. April 2015' 2015

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
28. April 2015
2015
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '29. April 2015' 2015

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
29. April 2015
2015
Oil on colour photography
16.7 x 12.6cm
On loan from the Gerhard Richter Art Foundation
© Gerhard Richter 2023
Foto: Simon Vogel, Köln

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '14.7.15 (3)' 2015

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
14.7.15 (3)
2015
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '29.1.2000 (Firenze)' 2000

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
29.1.2000 (Firenze)
2000
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '4. March 2003' 2003

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
4. March 2003
2003
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) '20.6.05' 2005

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
20.6.05
2005
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) 'MV. 92' 2011

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
MV. 92
2011
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) 'MV. 98' 2011

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
MV. 98
2011
Oil on colour photography
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932) 'MV. 133' 2011

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932)
MV. 133
2011
Oil on colour photography
10.1 x 15.1 cm
© Gerhard Richter 2023

 

 

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Tzschirnerplatz 2
01067 Dresden

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