Gerhard Richter's Blurred Realism in the 1990s
In the 1980s, Gerhard Richter experienced a pictorial crisis that led him to abandon figurative motifs, producing large-scale abstract canvases. By the 1990s, he responded to society's desire for figurative art, despite claiming to have no personal style. His new paintings cater to his clientele's taste for a deceptive, illusory realism with blurred contours, reflecting a loss of critical distance from realist representation norms.
Key facts
- Gerhard Richter went through a pictorial crisis in the 1980s, losing the motif.
- During the 1980s, he produced large-format abstract paintings.
- He had already lost critical distance from realist representation norms.
- His 1990s paintings respond to society's desire for figurative art.
- Richter claims to have no style.
- He now paints, knowingly or not, for his clientele and their taste.
- His and his clientele's taste focuses on a deceptive, illusory realism with blurred contours.
Entities
Artists
- Gerhard Richter
Sources
- artpress —