It’s both strange and fascinating to watch an artist at work; many won’t even allow it. It can be compelling, or dull, depending…
The other day I stumbled upon a video of Gerhard Richter making an abstract painting.
As an admirer of Richter, I clicked on the link. The short — less than 3 minute — video is on a site called Nowness, which calls itself “digital leader in luxury storytelling” and is creations of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, but says it “remains an open platform where all content is editorially independent.”
The video of Richter at work (here) shows him making a painting much like the one at right, from 2006.shows him making a painting much like the one at right, from 2006.
I learned a little about his technique, but I was glad it’s short.
I’m writing about it here because it’s drawn from a new documentary called Gerhard Richter Painting by Corinna Beltz that may be better in its entirety. According to a review of the film — which was shown at the Toronto Film Festival last month — by the Hollywood Reporter:
…a must-see for followers of contemporary painting, Corinna Belz’s Gerhard Richter Painting opens a window on artworks whose creation proves even more time- and thought-intensive than expected.
…Set mostly in clean white studios whose size and details are no more romantic than corporate offices, the film spends months to capture a process more tumultuous than a one-day visit would suggest: We open on a gray abstract composition that Richter’s assistant believes is finished, for instance, only to see Richter obliterate it…in hopes of coaxing something new from its depths.
Judging from the film’s website, it opened in Germany last month. The site has many other areas, including this synopsis, but no dates for showings in the U.S. I’m sure that will change.
This is a good time for the documentary — in Europe. Richter is having a moment there. The Tate Modern just opened a show of his work, dubbed a “tremendous survey” in this review in The Guardian and called “superbly curated.” This website says Panorama is going to Paris and Berlin, not to the U.S., alas.