I would go as far to say that Richter paints Richter if in Dresden, Düsseldorf or Cologne. Gerhard Richter paints and only paints in the individual style of Gerhard Richter. He remains faithful to his principles and to no one else.

The Privilege of Seeing Now writing about the exhibition “A Look into the Universe of Gerhard Richter”, which includes works from 1967 to 1999 and are shown alongside with photos from the artist Manfred Leve also from this period, I feel I can freely state that style was never of the slightest importance to Gerhard Richter –In fact had no meaning whatsoever! I would go as far to say that Richter paints Richter if in Dresden, Düsseldorf or Cologne. Gerhard Richter paints and only paints in the individual style of Gerhard Richter. He remains faithful to his principles and to no one else. Next to Beuys, Polke, Baselitz and the Korean Paik, who is as much Germanic as the others, Richter remains undeniably Richter. What do I mean by this? It means that he doesn’t dance to the same tune as the mass, but has the tenacity to develop his own individual style and his own rhythm. Richter has created both. Deeply Personal!– Unique!

Nowadays it’s impossible to define German Art in words without mentioning or writing about Gerhard Richter, an artist that is like a seed – Striking! / impressive! Photographs, magazines, newspapers were just as important for Gerhard Richter as they were for Andy Warhol, But Richter’s vision is diametrically opposed to Warhol’s. While Warhol increases the impact of the picture by reworking and adding details, Gerhard Richter allows the details to fade or even disappear. The fact that Richter hides or even eliminates reality can be understood as a way of trying to ignore their presence. The existence of the Nazi and communist movements are of no interest to him. He shows reality in black and white with grey tones.

He modifies and eliminates these elements with loose free flowing brushstrokes and lively luminous colours. It’s up to the viewer to decipher the images through curtains pizza kurier bern, doors and screens –Very Subtle! When Gerhard Richter explained, “I like everything that doesn’t have any style, dictionaries, snapshots, nature, me and my work”, it sums him and his work up completely. His work is an automatic reflection of this attitude. – Multiple! – Different! – Without a definite model.

To be able to see a part of this richly facetted output exhibited next to the spontaneous snapshots of the artist Manfred Leve, who has been taking photographs of Gerhard Richter and other artists such as Beuys, Polke, Paik and Cage for decades, is indeed a rare privilege. This privilege is intensified for the viewer by a musical accompaniment of works from Bach and Cage. To be able to step into Gerhard Richter’s universe, with the help of Manfred Leve’s photos, means that one has surprising glimpses into Richter’s daily life! For me it has been a privilege to write this text a thousand kilometres away in São Paulo, to think about his paintings that I have seen in Venice, Kassel, in MoMA and here at the Säo Paulo Biennale. Writing about Contemporary German Artists who have put a breath of fresh air into German art, would be without Richter just a repetition of well known and famous names. – Luckily it is not!

Carlos Von Schmidt Curator And Art Critic – São Paulo May 4th 2009