Gerhard Richter at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Gerhard Richter (b. 1932, Germany), one of the giants of contemporary art.
This is his first solo museum exhibition in Japan in a full sixteen years, since the 2005-2006 shows at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa and DIC Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art.
It is also his first large-scale solo museum exhibition in Tokyo.
Working across a wide range of materials — oil painting, photography, digital prints, glass, and mirrors — and moving freely between figuration and abstraction, Richter has continually engaged with the question of what it means for a person to see and recognize things. Drawing largely from the Gerhard Richter Art Foundation collection and the artist’s own holdings, and including his most recent drawings, this exhibition traces Richter’s sixty-year career through around 110 significant works, marking the year in which he turns ninety.
Birkenau
Birkenau, a monumental abstract painting composed of four canvases each 2 meters wide and 2.6 meters tall, addresses the Holocaust and is regarded as one of Richter’s key recent works. Among the largest paintings in the exhibition, it is being shown in Japan for the first time.
Abstract Painting
Abstract paintings, from small works to large-scale pieces, were on view in abundance.
Personally, this is my favorite series.
Photo Painting
The “Photo Painting” series, in which Richter renders newspaper and magazine photographs — as well as family photos — on canvas.
Move closer, and you can clearly see the brushwork of these oil paintings.
Color Chart
Grey Painting
Prints
Drawings
On the left and right, the drawings were shown with different framing.
Diverse bodies of work were installed compactly, offering a full sweep of Richter’s practice in a single show.
The density was extremely high, and the experience of viewing was, correspondingly, very rich.
The exhibition will travel to Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
I would love to see it again in Toyota’s more expansive galleries.
