Gerhard Richter

Overpainted photographs have been an important part of Gerhard Richter's work since 1989. Despite their modest size these works are central to Richter's art, for more than any other group of works they are mid-way between representational depiction and autonomous painting. In Spring 2000 Richter produced 103 overpainted photographs which predominantly use shots taken by the artist himself in Florence. Their motifs have been elaborately reworked in a variety of ways, with the result that different levels of reality, illusionistic landscape painting and the materiality of the paint itself seem to merge inextricably into each other. Within this ongoing series individual motifs are introduced as different themes, at times giving way to other motifs, only to re-emerge again later. This book publication includes 100 overpainted photographs of the group which was never exhibited as such, and reconstructs the original concept of the work. (English edition available ISBN 3- 7757-1059-0)