Gerhard Richter: Life and Work by Armin Zweite
One of the worlds most revered visual artists, Gerhard Richter embraces many concepts in his work and continually thwarts categorisation. In this expansive and authoritative overview, Armin Zweite leads readers through every phase of Richters celebrated career including his early artistic education in East Germany and his later prolific output in West Germany: the black and white photo paintings, the brilliantly conceived colour charts and lush, inscrutable grey paintings, installations with glass and mirrors, his landscapes, portraits, and still lifes, and his monumental abstract paintings, which broke records at auction. Also included are selections from Richters larger-scale thematic works, such as Atlas, his ongoing collection of photographs and newspaper clippings, and October 18, 1977, a series of paintings commemorating the lives and deaths of members of a German left-wing terrorist group. The beautiful plates sections feature exquisite reproductions of more than 250 of his most famous works, including Ten Large Colour-charts (1966), Annunciation after Titian (1973), Faust (1980), Skull with Candle (1983), Funeral (1988), Strip (2012), and Double Gray (2014). Throughout, Zweites clear-eyed commentary offers an expert appraisal of the breadth of Richters oeuvre. This six-decade monograph of Richters work is a visually stunning and articulate appreciation by one of the worlds foremost experts on the artist and his life.