The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Abstract Painting (750-1)

1991

Gerhard Richter

(German, 1932-)

Germany, 20th century

oil on canvas

Framed: 260 x 200 x 3.5 cm (102 3/8 x 78 3/4 x 1 3/8 in.); Unframed: 260 x 200 cm (102 3/8 x 78 3/4 in.)

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1995.74

Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The stunning overlapping colors and textures are created by covering each thin layer of paint with a sheet of plastic that was pulled away from the canvas.

Description

Among the most recognized and influential artists working today, Gerhard Richter is difficult to classify because he simultaneously paints in a staggering variety of styles, veering freely from realism to abstraction. Abstractions such as this one have constituted a large part of his production since the mid 1970s. Abstract Painting (750-1) is from a series that Richter created between 1988 and 1991. Beginning with a ground of bright colors, such as red, yellow, blue, or green, he applied additional coats of pigment. He covered each thin layer of paint with a sheet of plastic that was pulled away to create a blend of overlapping colors, textures, and shapes. Richter applied the paint quickly, but the process was time consuming, allowing the artist the opportunity to evaluate and change each work as it evolved. Although this dense composition has no recognizable imagery, it conveys a sense of movement not unlike the experience of looking out of a car window at the landscape streaking past.

1995 -
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, purchased from the artist
Richter, Gerhard, and Peter Gidal. Gerhard Richter: Painting in the Nineties. London: Anthony d'Offay Gallery, 1995. Referenced: pp. 38-39
Cleveland Museum of Art, “The Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Major Works,” December 20, 1995, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
Liebert, Emily. “A Bright New Welcome: The corridor in the museum's main entrance will be flooded with light and color by Spencer Finch's Color Test 210 (9 Permutations)." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 58. no. 2 (March/April 2018): 30-31. Reproduced: P. 31; Mentioned: P. 30.
The Cleveland Museum of Art (06/01/2007); "CMA @ Akron"
Gerhard Richter: Painting in the Nineties. Anthony d’Offay Gallery, London (June 1-August 4, 1995)
{{cite web|title=Abstract Painting (750-1)|url=false|author=Gerhard Richter|year=1991|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.74