Brand New!! Gerhard Richter: Panorama At Tate Modern - Review

Gerhard Richter - entrance to Panorama Exhibition at Tate Modern
(note the blurry lady!)

Yesterday I went to reckon the Gerhard Richter Panorama Exhibition at Tate Modern before it closes on Sunday.

Of the 2 exhibitions nearly icon I've seen this calendar week I liked this ane less than the Painting Canada exhibition at Dulwich.  I'll effort too explicate why.  I exercise know I loved the colouring I saw at Dulwich too I saw an awful lot of monochrome at Tate Modern - but there's to a greater extent than to it than that.

I estimate the matter which threw me the most is the fact he hasn't maintained a consistent style.  It's non too so much a Picasso progression through unlike styles over the current of his career too so much equally his powerfulness to go inwards really unlike ways using really unlike tools at the same time!  The lack of commentary on technique of his paintings of "realism" was also somewhat frustrating.

On the other manus it is refreshing to reckon somebody who enjoys an exploration of what icon is too means.

Spanning nearly 5 decades, too coinciding amongst the artist’s 80th birthday, Gerhard Richter: Panorama is a major retrospective exhibition that groups together important moments of his remarkable career.

Since the 1960s, Gerhard Richter has immersed himself inwards a rich too varied exploration of painting. Gerhard Richter: Panorama highlights the total extent of the artist's work, which has encompassed a various make of techniques too ideas. It includes realist paintings based on photographs, colourful gestural abstractions such equally the squeegee paintings, portraits, subtle landscapes too history paintings

Two of the novel CAGE Paintings past times Gerhard Richter
exhibited at Tate Modern
- gives yous a sense of size!

I didn't purchase the catalogue too so this postal service is going to live observations nearly his paintings which won't necessarily reference them past times name.  However I am going to create a chip of a mashup amongst commentary past times linking yous to:

• the room past times room guide on the Tate Modern website (click the hyperlinks inwards the headings below)
• the private paintings which tin flame live seen on Gerhard Richter's website.  Nice for those who haven't been able to reckon the show!
• other cloth from unlike sources which supplements or helps explicate the exhibition to me.

Do allow me know what yous think nearly this approach!

Room 1: Photopainting inwards the 1960s - Guide

I knew Richter painted from photographs too had started doing this inwards the 1960s.  However I'd never seen ane of his paintings before too thus was interested to reckon how he did he approached his paintings.  The overwhelming sense inside this room was of monochrome - although it also included paintings amongst colouring notably the ones of Arab Republic of Egypt painted from photos inwards a move brochure - reckon Egyptian Landscape Ägyptische Landschaft

I hadn't realised that his motifs at the fourth dimension were nearly the way the luxurious lifestyle of western Europe impacted on a novel immigrant from Eastern Europe - or addressing the "elephant inwards the room" issues to exercise amongst the Second World War which people were trying to forget or at to the lowest degree didn't verbalise about.  However Richter was born inwards Dresden - reckon Bombers  - before escaping to West Berlin 2 months before the edifice of the wall).  His paintings render a comment on his family's involvement amongst National Socialism too the Nazis.  How really strange to receive got an uncle inwards the Wehrmacht too an aunt who was a victim too died equally business office of the eugenics programme.

Gerhard Richter's work, Aunt Marianne, went for £2.1m at auction. Based on a photograph taken inwards June 1932, the icon shows the creative soul equally a four-month-old man child sitting inwards the lap of his 14-year-old aunt.


The photo-realist icon appears to resemble null to a greater extent than than an innocent Sun afternoon snap taken inwards the menage unit of measurement dorsum garden. But, inwards fact, it encapsulates Marianne's fate equally ane of 250,000 people killed nether a forgotten euthanasia programme linked to Richter's ain father-in-law.
Dismay equally High German icon is sold abroad - Guardian

I also loved the comment nearly the similarity of the ears betwixt Horst too his - see Horst amongst dog.

This was also the betoken at which he began to blur his paintings using a dry out brush.

Many of these paintings are made inwards a multi-step procedure of representations. He starts amongst a photograph, which he has constitute or taken himself, too projects it onto his canvas, where he traces it for exact form. Taking his colouring palette from the photograph, he paints to replicate the await of the master picture. His hallmark "blur"—sometimes a softening past times the low-cal touching of a soft brush, sometimes a hard smear past times an aggressive draw amongst his squeegee—has 2 effects:

• It offers the prototype a photographic appearance; and
• Paradoxically, it testifies the painter's actions, both skilled too coarse, too the plastic nature of the pigment itself.

In some paintings blurs too smudges are severe plenty to disrupt the image; it becomes hard to empathise or believe. The dependent champaign is nullified. In these paintings, images too symbols (such equally landscapes, portraits, too intelligence photos) are rendered delicate illusions, fleeting conceptions inwards our constant reshaping of the world.
Wikipedia - Gerhart Richter

Room 2: Art after Duchamp - Guide

I receive got to confess I didn't quite larn the pregnant underpinning the allusion to Duchamp other than that Duchamp had said that icon is dead inwards 1917 (connected to the urinal artwork).  (Here's a rather prissy article past times Catriona Black I constitute when searching for references to "painting is dead" titled Painting is dead: lonely alive painting).

However when I got habitation I was able to banking concern correspond that Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, No 2 was inwards fact the ane I thought I remembered.  I'd also previously seen Richter's Ema (Nude on a Staircase) - painted equally a response to Duchamp's assertion that icon is fead.  It was dandy to reckon it "for real" - mainly too so I could also study the ways inwards which he'd progressed the icon on from beingness ane which he'd originally projected on to a canvas.

The internal commentary running through my caput kept remarking on how shine the pigment was.  These are really shine paintings too the brushwork is negligible - except inwards price of its intended impact.

This room also included the foremost of the big colouring nautical chart paintings which I didn't know at all.

Room 3: Damaged landscapes - Guide 
This room was interesting - although really monochrome.

The rough brushwork surely made the townscapes eg Townscape Paris await similar bombed out buildings to me.  However Himalaya was far to a greater extent than convincing from a distance than upward unopen - due to the same form of brushwork.

The most impressive icon for me was Sea amongst Sea - I did the required double-take too worked out the response before reading the caption ie that this was an amalgam of 2 photos amongst the bounding main inwards the 2nd turned upside downwards to recreate clouds

I noted the supposed connective amongst High German romantic painting

Room 4: Grey Paintings too Colour Charts - Guide

Richter worked on several serial of greyness monochrome paintings from the belatedly 1960s to the mid-1970s. He wrote at the fourth dimension that greyness ‘makes no contestation whatsoever; it evokes neither feelings nor associations; it is genuinely neither visible nor invisible… Grey is the welcome too exclusively possible equivalent for indifference, noncommitment, absence of opinion, absence of shape.’

One of my to the lowest degree favourite rooms.

I was absolutely convinced I could reckon a give-and-take inwards the distortion at the bottom of Grey Streaks.  I could non for the life of me reckon the betoken of the sculpture Double Pane of Glass

4096 colours was interesting inwards an intellectual challenge form of way - but what a headache to paint!  Such a compassion that they pose 4096 colours on the Tate blog but don't bother to include the rechnical explanation of what it represents too how it was painted.

[This is his microsite for 4900 colours]

Room 5: Figuration meets abstraction - Guide
I liked the thought that the challenge of creating paintings without composition could live resolved past times icon clouds - too I genuinely liked his 1970 cloud paintings! (Cloud, Cloud too Cloud)

What's really weird - too I exclusively realised this spell doing this postal service is that this icon Tourist (with 1 lion) is painted from a photograph of somebody inwards a zoo who has but been killed past times a king of beasts - too the similarity of this to the cloud paintings inwards given the way he's dissolved the image.  Floating on a cloud now?

Room 6: Exploring abstraction - Guide
Abstract paintings that were non based on photographs started inwards the 1980s reckon Yellow-Green

I'm afraid I'm non a fan of his "brash too acidic palette".  To me these paintings but seemed crude.  That mightiness live because I've seen how refined his approach became amongst after paintings - but I but think I'd receive got hated them whatever!

Room 7: Genre icon too early on squeegee abstracts - Guide

While Richter had painted from photographs of objects since the foremost of his career, it was exclusively inwards the early on 1980s that he confronted the historical genre of soundless life too the tradition of vanitas painting.

This room included a rather lovely icon of a candle.  The Guide speculates equally to reasons why Richter painted 25 versions of a candle.  

Perish the thought that it could live because it became an iconic motif which became really pop (it has massive range for all sorts of meanings - see Candle: Gerhard Richter's Christmas spirit burns bright) too genuinely sold well!

I'm non a fan of the early on squegee abstracts - soundless the commentary descrives what happens when a squeegee is used.

Room 8: Landscapes too portraits - Guide
The icon of Richter's missy Betty genuinely has impact.  The textual narrative pointed out that ane realises she is looking at ane of her father's greyness paintings exclusively when spotting the pocket-size rectangle of wall painted white inwards the bottom correct manus corner.

The softened edges seemed to accommodate the landscapes. I thought Meadowland more successful as the soft edges suggested a wet laden atmosphere whereas I thought it was rather more incongruous with the sunny icon that is Barn

Room 9: xviii Oct 1977 - Guide (page iii of Richter's exhibition website)
This was a room of paintings of members of the Baader-Meinhof gang.  Somewhat disturbing equally some of the the really greyness paintings - done inwards the 1980s - were done from photographs of the dead members of the gang.  This relates to Richter's propensity for political comment too for tackling subjects that many would prefer non to verbalise about.  Read the guide to abide by out to a greater extent than nearly this topic.

What was weird was how the paintings became to a greater extent than existent the greater the distance I pose betwixt myself too the painting.

Room 10: Abstraction inwards the 1990s - Guide

There's a detailed description of how the abstract squeegee paintings are made inwards this Guide.  To live honest the documentary video I watched spell sat inwards a viewing room at Christies dorsum inwards the Autumn was much to a greater extent than illuminating.  Once seen never forgotten!

This was the abstract painting I liked the best.  It's a squeegee oil icon on aluminium. Click the link too scroll downwards - equally yous tin flame reckon it's been to a fair few exhibitions!  It's also got quite a next inwards the exhibition shop!  

Reader is stunning.

Reader 1994 deliberately echoes Vermeer’s Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window 1657-9, which he knew from his youth inwards Dresden. While Vermeer’s figure peruses a hugger-mugger missive of the alphabet inwards daylight, Richter’s immature married adult woman Sabine Moritz looks at a intelligence magazine inwards artificial light. Yet this is undoubtedly ane of Richter’s most intimate too tender paintings.

Room 11: Questioning icon - Guide

This room is nearly his monotype serial Elbe.  It also has a serial of graphite drawings made inwards 1999 too a serial of layouts for the volume War.

[You tin flame reckon more drawings on his website]

Room 12: The limitations of vision - Guide

I liked half dozen panes of drinking glass (although a chip of me became absorbed amongst the mechanics of carry too reconstruction of this piece).  The play a joke on seemed to live to stand upward off to ane side too await at it at 45% at which betoken people were reflected inwards a blurred way.

Room 13: 2001 too beyond - Guide

Richter was en route to New York on eleven September 2001 when his airplane was diverted to Canada.

September is the icon he made after 9/11.

This room contained a squeegee painting which I think I saw beingness made inwards the film.  There in ane trial to a greater extent than he seems to receive got made quite a few white paintings.  Having watched him the cinema ane can't aid think white is the pigment which is applied to a icon which hasn't worked out equally he'd hoped

Room 14: Cage - Guide

Richter’s monumental Cage paintings were completed inwards 2006 too foremost exhibited at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Like his before squeegee abstractions, they are the resultant of several layers of icon too erasure.

The concluding room was exterior the exhibition - thus the photos (they exclusively wanted me to refrain from using flash which is non hard when using a smartphone!)

They're named after John Cage whose music he was listening to when he created them.

Richter was listening to the music of John Cage spell he worked on these paintings too titled them after the composer. He has long been interested inwards Cage’s ideas nearly ambient audio too silence, too has approvingly quoted his contestation ‘I receive got null to state too I am maxim it’.

They struck me really much equally Richter doing a Rothko (the Seagram Murals alive most of the fourth dimension inwards The Rothko Room at Tate Modern)

a wall inwards room 14

You tin flame reckon to a greater extent than of Gerhard Richter's past times exhibitions on his website - these are Richter's exhibitions inwards 2011.

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