Gerhard Richter EIGHT GRAY

One of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Gerhard Richter will exhibit a series of commissioned works at the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin in October 2002 which grow out of works Richter first presented in M÷nchengladbach in the early seventies. In his experiments with the mirror and its relationship to painting, Richter often adds a layer of color behind the glass surfaces, thus complicating and compromising the clarity and "truth" expected from the glass. The shifting, hazy reflections articulate the elusive nature of the reality artists struggle to imitate. For Richter, there is no one vision, no certitude. Representing nothingness - the void - the eight large grey mirrors recall for the artist a kind of "memento mori." The publication will focus on the commission project and the importance of the Mirror series, projects in glass, grey monochromes, and related works in Richter's career. The catalog will include an essay by Richter expert Benjamin Buchloh as well as a focused bibliography. Nearly fifty images of drawings and related works dating from 1965 to the present as well as studies for the Berlin installation will be illustrated. The existing scholarship on the artist does not include a book dedicated to the understanding and analysis of this significant aspect of the artist's oeuvre, thus this catalog will be an important contribution to Richter studies. (German edition available, ISBN 3-7757-1274-7)