Gerhard Richter 81 Zeichnungen ∙ 1 STRIP-Bild ∙ 1 Edition

The artist’s studio was left open, his painting oeuvre was closed. In the remoteness of his studio, Gerhard Richter now created drawings that he subjected to his self-imposed maxim: “The most fundamental, the hardest thing is to make something that is good.”  This is especially true for drawings because every pentimento, every insecurity and caprice leaves traces on the paper. In this liberating environment, far removed from the rambling discourses on his life’s work, it was high time to start considering Gerhard Richter’s drawings. The focus of the Munich exhibition is on three suites of his most recent drawings. The wealth contained in this virtuoso group of works is surprising when considered in the context of his drawing oeuvre.

He counters the ascetic severity of the serial display of his recent drawings with a newly created Strip Painting that outshines the exhibition gallery. Near the entrance in the Vitrinengang the edition piece Schädel (Skull) was to be placed in one of the twelve otherwise empty display cases for graphic art. This work is at once a provoking ready-made and an ominous presence. Yet the sober presentation is misleading. With his exhibition 81 Zeichnungen ∙ 1 Strip-Bild∙ 1 Edition Gerhard Richter has succeeded in a radical presentation of his latest drawings within the museum space.

With this project the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, once again, explores the role of drawing in the 21st century as a catalyst among the fine arts and as an existential mode of expression of human intellect and creativity.

Michael Hering