Gerhard Richter Retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton Brings Together 257 Works

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris is hosting a major retrospective of German artist Gerhard Richter (born 1932 in Dresden), featuring 257 works across 34 rooms, spanning his career from 1962 to 2024. Curated by Dieter Schwarz and Nicholas Serota, the exhibition is structured chronologically, allowing visitors to explore Richter's conceptual approach to painting, which he describes as "image production." The show includes early works like Table (1962) and Cerf (1963), both derived from photographs, as well as the 48 Portraits (1972) series shown at the 1972 Venice Biennale. Notable pieces include Ema (Nu sur un escalier) (1966), referencing Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, and the 18. Oktober 1977 (1988) cycle about the Baader-Meinhof group. A special section in Gallery 6 highlights Richter's drawings and watercolors from 1983 to 2008, a practice he considers private. The exhibition concludes with Birkenau (2014), four large abstract canvases based on clandestine photographs from Auschwitz-Birkenau. The show runs until March 2, 2026.