Gerhard Richter (b. 1932 in Dresden) is one of the most important artists of our time and prominently represented in the Fondation Beyeler collection. His work treads a path between figuration and abstraction. Richter explores the diverse range of artistic possibilities and thereby makes switching between different materials, techniques and styles a central component of his work.
Within the broad thematic and stylistic scope of his oeuvre, landscape has been a recurring motif since 1963. Gerhard Richter’s oscillation between figurative and abstract art emerges clearly, too, in his work 3.5.2009. The overpainted photograph shows a mountain meadow, complemented in the area of the horizon by abstract oil painting. Richter scraped off the still wet paint with a plastic squeegee, leaving behind structures that, although they do not completely cover the photograph, are reminiscent of a sky.
3.5.2009 exemplifies Richter’s openness to different media and his experimental approach. He has been creating overpainted photographs since around 1980. The resulting body of work potently illustrates the interplay of perception, reality and pictoriality that is characteristic of the artist.
Oil on colour photograph
11.3 × 17 cm (image)
36 × 45 × 1.5 cm (framed)
Unique
Signed and dated 3. Mai 2009
Provenance: donated by a Private Collection
