Sale: 470 / Post War I, June 09. 2018 in Munich Lot 914

 

914
Gerhard Richter
Fuji, 1996.
Oil
Estimate:
€ 250,000 / $ 267,500
Sold:
€ 300,000 / $ 321,000

(incl. surcharge)
Fuji. 1996.
Oil on Alucobond.
Work overview of paitnings 839-76. Butin 89. Verso signed and with the edition label, there with hand-written number and typographically dated, titled and inscribed. From a series of oil painting in 110 copies. 37.5 x 29 cm (14.7 x 11.4 in).
Released by 'Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus', Munich 1996. Gerhard Richter created all paintings in this series in the colors red, orange, green and white on equally-sized Alucobond panels, of which 40 were made in portrait format. Due to the manual color application and the individual tretament with the squeegee every work is of unique character.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Germany.

"Currently hardly any other artist besides Gerhard Richter has such a strong presence in international museums and is likewise well-known to the general public."
H. Butin/S.Gronert/T.Olbricht, 2014 (quote from: Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2014, p. 7)

Along with Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter is leading the international list of most expensive living artits. His paintings realize record prices in international auctions on a regular basis, today they are part of many acclaimed private and public collections. The record price of 36.3 million Euro for a large-size abstract work by the German artist was realized at Sotheby's in London in February 2015. From working over and altering the motifs by means of a squueegee in his early representational works to the later abstract works, the idea of blurring and disguising the manually applied colors by means of broad squeegee boards has become characteristic concept of Gerhard Richter's painting. This work shows structure and technical execution of Richter's manner of painting in a particularly striking way, as the bright red and orange color, which Richter applied with a brush, are still visible in bottom center. The squeegee is used in a second step, now the artist wipes the spots of paint and creates largely uncontrollable veils of colors. In case Richter is not happy with the result, for instance for lack of balance and harmony, the artist will work it over anew and anew until the squeegee has eventually produced a convincing color composition that is entirely free from any representational associations: "It is not that I mistrust reality, of which I know hardly anything at all, but I do mistrust the image of reality that our senses give us and which is clearly imperfect." (G. Richter, quote from: Werkübersicht der Gemälde, p. 87.). [JS]



914
Gerhard Richter
Fuji, 1996.
Oil
Estimate:
€ 250,000 / $ 267,500
Sold:
€ 300,000 / $ 321,000

(incl. surcharge)