Gerhard Richter

Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York
Chester A. Frank, New York
Christie's, New York, June 3, 1998, Lot 34 (consigned by the estate of the above)
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Berlin, Neue Berliner Galerie im Alten Museum; Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Albertinum, Positionen. Malerei aus der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, October 1986 - January 1987, p. 177, illustrated in color 
New York, Sperone Westwater Gallery and Marian Goodman Gallery, Gerhard Richter: Paintings, March - April 1987, n.p., illustrated in color

Angelika Thill, et al., Gerhard Richter: A Catalogue Raisonné 1962 - 1993, vol. III, Ostfildern-Ruit, 1993, cat. no. 595-1, n.p., illustrated in color
Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter: Catalogue Raisonné, Vol. 3, Nos. 389 - 651-2. 1976-1987, Dresden and Ostfildern-Ruit, 2013, cat. no. 595-1, p. 500, illustrated in color

This work is in excellent condition. Under UV light, there are not apparent restorations. The canvas is framed in a wood frame with gold gilt facing with a small float, painted black.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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A bravura exercise in painterly technique, Abstraktes Bild reveals Gerhard Richter’s astonishing mastery of color alongside his highly assured manipulation of an abstract dialectic. Representing a dynamic, early example of Richter’s iconic corpus of Abstrakte Bilder – one of the most celebrated bodies of abstract painting ever created – the present work is dominated by a wash of vivid blue at the center of the composition, which contrasts to powerful effect with the area of acid green at the upper right of the canvas and the warm red pigment at the lower left. Energetic sweeps of paint imbue the composition with an extraordinary sense of dynamism and animation: the differing painterly textures complement each other in a thrillingly symbiotic manner.  In its gestural expressivity, bold color and combination of different painterly and abstract marks, Abstraktes Bild recalls the two major paintings Richter executed following a commission from a German insurance company, Victoria I and Victoria II, created in the same year as the present work in 1986. Despite its more intimate scale, Abstraktes Bild projects a powerful sensation of vitality and strength on par with these larger abstract works.

Richter had first begun creating the forerunners of his iconic series around 1976, when seeking a new form of artistic expression that could signify a move away from the increasing preponderance of gray tones within his painting. Richter recalled the genesis of these early abstract works: “After those strictly monochromatic or non-chromatic paintings it was rather difficult just to keep going. Even if such a thing had been possible, I had no desire to produce variations on that theme. So I set out in the totally opposite direction. On small canvases I put random, illogical colors and forms -mostly with long pauses in between, which made sure that these paintings - if you can call them that - became more and more heterogeneous… An exciting business, at all events, as if I had opened a new door for myself.” (the artist cited in Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter, A Life in Painting, Chicago 2009, p. 231) Impelled to investigate the possibility of this discovery further, Richter began photographing specific details of these sketches to use as the basis for larger abstract paintings, re-creating the various brushstrokes on a grand scale. It was not long before Richter’s superlative painterly skill and boundless powers of imagination enabled him to create his first monumental Abstrakte Bilder, many of which were shown for the first time in a major exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld in 1982.

An extraordinary level of care and patience is involved in the creation of the Abstrakte Bilder: Richter applies the pigments in distinct layers by means of paint brush, palette knife or squeegee, with long pauses between each application of paint so that the overall effect of the work is painstakingly considered. Tracts of color are dragged across the canvas, so that the various strains of malleable, semi-liquid pigment suspended in oil are fused together and smudged first into the canvas, and then layered on top of each other as the paint strata accumulate.  Richter has spoken of this process: “…the beginning is actually quite easy, because I can still be quite free about the way I handle things – colors, shapes.  And so a picture emerges that may look quite good for a while, so airy, colorful and new. But that will only last for a day at most, at which point it starts to look cheap and fake. And then the real work begins – changing, eradicating, starting again, and so on, until it’s done.” (the artist cited in Exh. Cat., London, Tate Modern, Gerhard Richter: Panorama, 2011, p. 17) The utilization of the squeegee – employed for the first time in 1980 - revolutionized Richter’s working practice and technique, enabling the artist to create multifaceted layers of pigment and color: by 1986 Richter’s use of the squeegee had reached new heights of technical assurance and aesthetic perfection. Reflecting on the complex working process behind the Abstrakte Bilder, Richter has described his method as “a multitude of Yes/No decisions, with a Yes to end it all.”(the artist cited in Op. Cit., p. 251). In its exquisite coloration and technical facility Abstraktes Bild superbly encapsulates Richter’s highly accomplished abstract language during a period of intense creative ferment for the artist.