格哈德·里希特

The Artist
Galerie Jean Bernier, Athens
The Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis
Evelyn Aimis Gallery, Toronto
Christie's, London, March 25, 1993, Lot 144
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Selected Works, The Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, 1990, p. 23, illustrated in color
Angelika Thill, et al., Gerhard Richter: A Catalogue Raisonné 1962 - 1993, vol. III, Ostfildern-Ruit, 1993, cat. no. 682-3, n.p., illustrated in color

This painting is in excellent condition. Very close inspection shows a very small number of extremely short, hairline drying cracks towards the left of the top edge, which are inherent to the medium. Viewed under raking light there is an extremely thin and faint 4" vertical hairline crack towards the lower right corner, and there is a minute loss to the extreme overturn lower right edge. Under ultraviolet light there are no apparent restorations. The canvas is not framed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A stunning exemplar of Gerhard Richter’s marvelous and arresting art of abstraction, Abstraktes Bild 1988 is instantly captivating. Chronologically situated at the beginning of his seminal 1988-1992 period, during which his practice reached new heights, the present work displays the achievement and maturity of Richter’s technique. Brilliant red dances horizontally across the surface of the canvas, at once highly choreographed and utterly spontaneous, unveiling a rich array of underlying pigments. Dazzling yellows, muted greens, and lush blues burst through the overlying striations, compounding the sense of depth and wonder felt by the viewer who allows himself to be overcome by Richter’s mastery.  Richter’s distinctive squeegee technique results in an intricate visual phenomenon, enabling us to perceive the vibrant hues of the canvas as simultaneously blended together and independent of one another. The effect is halting in its beauty, depth, and texture.

Gerhard Richter’s artistic contribution is internationally considered within the highest tier of his era, and his abstract works represent the furthest limit in his lifelong pioneering scrutiny of painting. His art has persistently engaged in a critical dialogue with the historical conception of painting – tackling since the early 1960s the declaration of painting’s death, heralded by Marcel Duchamp and his Modernist peers. With his early photo-paintings, Richter instigated a groundbreaking re-examination of painting in the face of technological means of mass production. Flawlessly blurred while the pigment remained wet, the photo-paintings bridged the gap between abstract painting and photographic figuration. In the present work the sheen of immaculate color and endless permutations signify the photographic referent, mimicking the aesthetic of a cibachrome print – the hazy coagulation of endlessly scraped pigment forms an extraordinary riposte to the canon of abstraction via the mechanical and the aleatory.

An element of chance is necessary to facilitate the artistic ideology of Richter’s abstracts. As the artist has himself explained, “I want to end up with a picture that I haven’t planned. This method of arbitrary choice, chance, inspiration and destruction may produce a specific type of picture, but it never produces a predetermined picture…I just want to get something more interesting out of it than those things I can think out for myself.” (the artist interviewed in 1990 in Hubertus Butin and Stefan Gronert, eds., Gerhard Richter. Editions 1965-2004: Catalogue Raisonné, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2004, p. 36) Thus, with its equal dependence on chance and precision, a potent confluence of artistic forces is realized in the present work.

Numbered 682-3 in Richter’s Catalogue Raisonné, the present work is the third of a series of four similarly hued abstracts that compose the 682 group. Though all four of the 682 paintings boast a delicate palette of soft gray underlying primaries of red, blue, green, and yellow, the particular patterning in the present work truly sets it apart. A glowing gray tone, reminiscent of the palette of the photo-paintings, shines through at the top and bottom edges of the canvas, framing the sublime chaos that emerges from the interplay between the various layers of applied pigment. The resulting image encapsulates Richter’s theory that with abstraction, “there is no order, everything is dissolved, more revolutionary, anarchistic.” (Exh. Cat., Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Gerhard Richter: Paintings, 1988, p. 108)

The present work’s complexity of texture and color combines with Richter’s convergence of precision and chaos to create an affecting experience for the viewer. Operating under the competing ideologies of precision and abstract expressionism, Richter succeeded in creating a work that is both logical and visceral. The process of production is on display, but spars with the emotional resonance and evocative powers of the colors and forms that result from pure chance. These aesthetic and experiential factors coalesce to present a masterwork of Richter’s artistic and philosophical achievement.