Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Gerhard Richter

Quote by Gerhard Richter

“The political topicality of my October paintings means almost nothing to me, but in many reviews it is the first or only thing that arouses interest, and the response to the pictures varies according to current political circumstance. I find this rather a distraction.”

Quote by Gerhard Richter

Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
Create image

Work

Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007

Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007 is a comprehensive compilation of the artist's written works over a significant period of his career. The book offers insights into Richter's evolving artistic philosophy, his approach to painting, and his reflections on the role of art in society. It is a valuable resource for those interested in the thoughts and ideas of one of the most influential contemporary artists. more

Author

Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter

German visual artist known for his unique painting style and diverse creative techniques. Richter's works span a wide range of styles from abstraction to figuration, and his career has spanned over half a century, profoundly influencing contemporary art. more

You May Also Like

“I wanted to say something different: the pictures are also a leave-taking, in several respects. Factually: these specific persons are dead; as a general statement, death is leave-taking. And then ideologically: a leave-taking from a specific doctrine of salvation and, beyond that, from the illusion that unacceptable circumstances of life can be changed by this conventional expedient of violent struggle.”

PersonsArtDifferentWantedStruggleChangedPaintingCircumstancesIllusionSalvationViolentStatementsDoctrineConventional
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
Create image

“And then the work bears a strong sense of leave-taking for me personally. It ends the work I began in the 1960s (paintings from black-and-white photographs), with a compressed summation that precludes any possible continuation. And so it is a leave-taking from thoughts and feelings of my own on a very basic level. Not that this is a deliberate act, of course; it is a quasi-automatic sequence of disintegration and reformation which I can perceive, as always, only in retrospect.”

ArtI CanEndsFeelingsCoursesStrongBlackMy OwnWhiteLevelsPaintingBearsPhotographPerceiveBlack And WhiteDeliberateSequence1960sReformationRetrospectThoughts And FeelingsContinuationDisintegration
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
Create image

“There was no special event that made me decide. I had collected some photos and the idea was in the back of my mind for a long time. It was growing and growing, so finally I said, 'I must paint this.' I come from East Germany and am not a Marxist, so of course at the time I had no sympathy for the ideas, or for the ideology that these people represented. I couldn't understand, but I was still impressed. Like everyone, I was touched. It was an exceptional moment for Germany.”

PeopleMindLongArtMadeSaidStillsIdeasMomentsCoursesGrowingSpecialEventsPaintingLong TimePaintEastIdeologyGermanyTouchedImpressedExceptionalOf My MindMarxistNo SympathyEast GermanySpecial Events
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
Create image

“I began in 1976, with small abstract paintings that allowed me to do what I had never let myself do: put something down at random. And then, of course, I realized that it never can be random. It was all a way of opening a door for me. If I don't know what's coming - that is, if I have no hard-and-fast image, as I have with a photographic original - then arbitrary choice and chance play an important part.”

IfsKnowsWayArtImportantHardPlayChoicesCoursesChanceDoorsPaintingOriginalsI RealizedOpeningAbstractArbitraryAbstract Painting
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
Create image