The National Gallery in Prague Exhibits Works by Gerhard Richter, Who Is Regarded As The

The National Gallery in Prague exhibits works by Gerhard Richter, who is regarded as the most significant living artist of our times

On April 26, the National Gallery in Prague opens the first retrospective of Gerhard Richter in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing together more than seventy of his works. The exhibition has been prepared in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, and is part of the Czech-German Cultural Spring 2017. Gerhard Richter is one of the most widely recognized artists of the past decades. His works are also among the most highly prized by international auction houses.

“Many art critics acknowledge Gerhard Richter as the greatest living artist. The exhibition at Kinsky Palace and the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia in Prague surveys his nearly sixty-year-long artistic career. Visitors can see his iconic works, ranging from photo-realistic paintings to expressive and geometric abstract compositions,” says Jiří Fajt, General Director of the National Gallery in Prague and curator of the exhibition.

Born in 1932 in Dresden, Gerhard Richter became one of the first German artists of his generation, who assumed a stance on his country’s Nazi history in his art. Richter was closely confronted with Nazism in his own family. “However, Richter himself does not see, nor does he want his work to refer to, German history as a subject matter. Nor does he want his work to be interpreted didactically or be dramatized in any way,” explains Jiří Fajt.

The post-war years spent in East Germany prepared Richter for his life-long commitment: the infinite testing of the discipline of painting. The discovery of post-war Western artists, such as Jackson Pollock, opened up for him the wide horizons of free artistic expression, and led to his resolute rejection of the dire reality of life in the Eastern bloc, which was reinforced by his trip to Moscow in 1961. Afterwards, Gerhard Richter immigrated to West Germany and now he lives in Cologne.

“The purpose of the exhibition is to present Richter’s extraordinarily broad palette of artistic means of expression and to show visitors a manifold collection of his crucial works of art that were selected and installed in close collaboration with the artist,” adds Jiří Fajt. Gerhard Richter is in no way an artist who can be easily classified. He finds inspiration in a broad range of historical influences, from realism to naturalism, from Impressionism to Pop-Art, from Conceptual Art to Abstract Expressionism.

The exhibition presents all facets of Richter’s oeuvre: the iconic portraits of his daughters Betty and Ella painted from photographs, paintings that reflect everyday life as well as historical and topical social issues, mountain- and seascapes, monochrome grey paintings, expressive abstract compositions, a series of computer-processed geometric Strips, and his famous Colour Charts that inspired the assignment of the monumental stained-glass windows for the Gothic Cathedral in Cologne. The Uncle Rudi painting, portraying Richter’s uncle as a Nazi soldier, which the artist donated to Lidice half a century ago, is loaned to the exhibition from the Lidice Collection of Fine Arts. Also on view are sheets from his legendary Atlas – a collection of photographs he made, newspaper clippings and drawings that Richter systematically collected as preparatory material from the 1960s.

The main part of the exhibition is installed in Kinsky Palace. The building’s ground floor, with a new visitors’ area, ticket counter, information centre and art shop, has been refurbished to accommodate this exhibition project. The palace courtyard acquaints visitors with the timeline of Richter’s life and guides them to the former horse stables on the ground floor, where the artist’s self-made film and documentary films about Richter’s oeuvre are shown, such as the celebrated feature film Painting. The key works of art are exhibited on the second floor. The nearby Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia hosts the second, more modest, part of the exhibition, showing the artist’s series of paintings entitled Birkenau that reflect the suffering and horrors of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, and a monumental glass object capturing an interplay of light reflection and refraction.

GERHARD RICHTER

1932
Gerhard Richter isborn in Dresden. His mother Hildegard was a bookseller and his father Horst a secondary-schoolteacher. DuringRichter’schildhood, thefamilymoved to Reichenau (nowBogatynia, Poland) and, aftertheoutbreakofWorldWar II to Waltersdorf, a villagenearthe Czech border in UpperLusatia..

1939
His father Horst wasdraftedintothearmy and afterbeingposted to the Western Front, wascaptured by theAlliedarmies and heldin a U.S. POW camp untilthe end ofthewar. Richter’suncleRudiwaskilled in thewar in 1944; his portraitwouldlaterbecomethethemeofUncleRudi, a painting Richter made in 1965.

1945
Richter’sauntMarianne, whosufferedfromschizophrenia, wasmurderedwithintheframeworkoftheNazieugenicsprogramme. In 1965, Richter paintedAuntMarianne, based on a joint portrait.

1946–1948
StudiesattheHigher Professional School in Zittau, where he receivedaneducation in stenography. During his schoolyears, Richter created his firstpieceof art – a copy of a nude, made from a bookpicture, and worksfor a sign painter.

1950
Works as anassistantstage-set painter in theZittaumunicipaltheatre and as a sign painter. Decides to become a professionalpainter and submitsanapplication (withoutsuccess) to theDresdenAcademyofFineArts.

1951
Afteranotherattempt, isaccepted to theDresdenAcademyofFineArts, where he studiespainting and muralpainting. Moves to Dresden.

1956
GraduatesfromtheAcademyofFineArts and completes his second muralpainting, calledJoyofLifefortheGermanHygiene Museum in Dresden, executed in thetraditionofSocialistRealism. ContinuesattheAcademy as a teacher.

1957
MarriesMarianne Ema Eufinger.

1959
Visitsthedocumenta 2 art show in Kassel, where he seestheworkofJacksonPollock and LucioFontanaforthefirsttime.

1961
In March, travels to theSoviet Union. On his wayback, puts his luggageintostorage in WestGermany and returns to Dresden to pick up Ema. Thefollowingmorning, theytravel to East Berlin, fromwheretheytakethetrainback to the Western Sector. Aftereightdays in a refugee camp, theymove on to Oldenburg, whereEma’sparents live and afterwards to Düsseldorf. Richter isaccepted to the art academy in Düsselfdorf, where, during his studies, he becomesacquaintedwith Konrad Lueg (Fischer), SigmarPolke and Blinky Palermo.

1962
Paints Table, whichinitiates his owncatalogueraisonné.

1964
Firstsolo exhibitions in Munich, Düsseldorf and Berlin.

1966
Paints his firstColourChartsseries and theportrait Ema (Nude on a Staircase) – Richter’sfirstpiecepaintedfrom a colourphotograph. In December, his daughterBabette (Betty) isborn.

1967
Anexhibitionisheldat Galerie René Block in Berlin, devoted to thevictimsoftheNaziannihilationofthepopulationof Lidice, calledHommage à Lidice. Richter takes part in theexhibitionwithUncleRudi, a painting he laterdonated to Lidice. Thatsameyear, he begins to use glass in his art and makes 4 PanesofGlass.

1968
Createsabstract and figurativeworks, and beginslandscapepaintings and theTownscapesseries. Startsworking on Atlas – a hugecollectionofdocumentaryphotographs and sketches.

1971
Appointedprofessoratthe Düsseldorf ArtsAcademy.

1972
RepresentsGermanyatthe 36th VeniceBiennale and, forthefirsttime, exhibits a seriesofportraitpaintingsunderthetitle 48 Portraits. TheColourChartsseriesispresentedatthedocumenta 5 art show in Kassel.

1973
His firstsoloexhibition in the United Stateshostedatthe Reinhard OnnaschGallery in New York.

1977
Exhibitsatdocumenta 6 and paintstheportraitof his daughter Betty. MeetsthesculptressIsaGenzken and latermarries her. On October 18, 1977, threekeyleadersoftheRedArmyFaction are founddead in the Stuttgart prison. In 1988, Richter produced a seriesofpaintingsdevoted to thisevent, based on photographsfromthepress and police investigations.

1978
Richter is a visitingprofessoratthe Nova ScotiaCollegeof Art and Design in Halifax, Canada.

1981
In Kassel, isawardedthe Arnold Bode Prize, producesthefirstpieceforMirror, a seriesofmirrors, whichispresentedat a two-person show with Georg Baselitz in theKunsthalle Düsseldorf.

1982
MarriesIsaGenzken. Participates in documenta 7, paintstheCandlesseries, and Skullsthefollowingyear.

1983
Late thatyear, movesfrom Düsseldorf to Cologne, where he stilllives and workstoday.

1985
In Vienna, receivesthe Oskar KokoschkaPrize, oneofthe most outstandingAustrianawardsforartistsproducingcontemporary art.

1986
ThefirstretrospectiveofRichter’sworktakes place in Düsseldorf underthetitle Gerhard Richter: Paintings 1962– 1985. Theexhibitiontravels to Berlin, Bern and Vienna.

1987
On theoccasionoftheexhibition Gerhard Richter: Works on Paper 1983–1986 on view in Amsterdam, he publishes his notes on his artworkforthefirsttime.

1988
Createsthe 18 October 1977 series and the second portraitof his daughter Betty. Becomes a visitingprofessoratthe Frankfurt art school.

1991
ThefirstBritishretrospectiveisheldattheTateGallery in London.

1992
Meets Sabine Moritz and marries her threeyearslater.

1993
Creates I.G., a seriesofportraitpaintingsofIsaGenzken. ThefirstcomprehensivebookofRichter’sletters and textsispublishedunderthetitle Gerhard Richter: Text, edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist.

1994
Finishes his teachingcareeratthe Düsseldorf ArtsAcademy.

1995
Marries Sabine Moritz, withwhom he has threechildren: Moritz (1995), Ella Maria (1996) and Theodor (2006).

1999
His painting Black, Red, Gold isinstalled in theReichstagbuilding in commemorationoftheGermanreunification.

2002
Curator Robert StorrholdsanimportantretrospectiveofRichter’s art, entitledFortyYearsofPainting, atthe Museum ofModern Art in New York.

2005
The Gerhard Richter Archive, headed by Dietmar Elger, isestablished in Dresden. In reaction to theterroristattacks on New York on September 11, 2001, Richter createsSeptember. Thatsameday he wasflying to New York and the plane wasrerouted to Halifax.

2006
Makes a seriesofabstractpaintingscalledCagethat he produced as he waslistening to music by theAmericancomposer John Cage.

2007
Richter’s design of a glasswindowisrealized in theColognecathedral, whichreflectsmotifsfromColourCharts. Paints a portraitof his second daughter Ella.

2008
Forthefifthtime in a row, theGerman business journalManager Magazin lists Richter the most influentiallivingartist in theKunstkompassrankingsystem.

2011
ProducesStrips, a seriesofdigitallyprocessedpaintings. A retrospectiveexhibitionentitled Panorama opensatTateModern in London to marktheartist’s 80th birthday, whichislatershown in Berlin and Paris.

2014
ProducesStrips, a seriesofdigitallyprocessedpaintings. A retrospectiveexhibitionentitled Panorama opensatTateModern in London to marktheartist’s 80th birthday, whichislatershown in Berlin and Paris.

2015
A two-man show ofGerhard Richter and theEstonian music composerArvoPärtispresentedattheWhitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.

2016
Works on severalseriesofnewAbstractPaintings, includingtheseries no. 944.

2017
On February 9, thedayofRichter’s 85th birthday, the Museum Ludwig in Cologneopensanexhibitionof his latestabstractpaintingscreated in 2016 that are accompanied by numerousworksfromthemuseum’sholdings. From May, thenextvenuewillbeDresden, theartist’snative city.

The Czech-German Cultural Spring 2017

Running from March to June 2017, the Czech-German Cultural Spring marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Czech-German Declaration on January 21, 1997, and is a part of the strategic dialogue between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic on both sides of the border. The Czech-German Cultural Spring 2017 is a cross-border cultural initiative organized by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Prague, the Goethe-Institut in Prague, the Czech-Germany Future Fund and the Czech Centres in Berlin and Munich, in partnership with the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. The exhibition of works by Gerhard Richter at the National Gallery in Prague is a cornerstone project of the Czech-German Cultural Spring’s programme that also includes the Eberhard Havekost exhibition on view at Galerie Rudolfinum, regional cultural events, youth exchange programmes and many other related activities.

In cooperationwith

Velvyslanectví Spolkové republiky Německo vPraze
Goethe-Institut vPraze
Ministerstvo kultury České republiky
Česko-německý fond budoucnosti

General partner oftheNationalGallery in Prague

Komerční banka

Partners oftheNationalGallery in Prague

The Pudil FamilyFoundation
Kooperativa pojišťovna
Hlavní město Praha

Exhibition partner

MIURA HOTEL
Innogy
Net4Gas
Wűrth

General media partner

Českátelevize

Main media partner

Railreklam

Officialcarrier

České dráhy

Media partners

Český rozhlas, Art+Antiques, Art+, Artmap, Art forGood, Prague EventsCalendar, Monitora, Expats.cz

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NationalGalllery in Prague

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