Paintings by Gerhard Richter return to the region that inspired them
A new exhibition of works by Gerhard Richter - made in response to Switzerland's Engadin Valley, a prime hiking and skiing destination in the Alps - is a collaboration between three institutions in the region: Hauser & Wirth St. in St. Moritz, and Nietzsche-Haus in nearby Sils Maria. With more than 70 loans from museums and private collections, “Gerhard Richter: Engadin” brings together a work that spans three decades. It opens on December 16th and runs until April 13th, 2024.
Richter was introduced to the region in 1989 by curator Dieter Schwarz, who initiated the new exhibition. During a trip to Sils Maria, the artist was instantly captivated by its sublime views of the Engadin Valley, which rises from dazzling blue lakes to majestic mountain peaks. Richter returned frequently, taking walks and documenting each new perspective with a camera so he could transport the landscape back to the studio. There, he reported paintings, overpainted photographs and drawings that will be included in the research.
The three exhibition locations are connected by a steel sphere exposed at each location. This object is also a portal back in time, having been included in the 1992 premiere of Richter's overpainted photographs of the region at Nietzshe-Haus, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist. Matte reflective surfaces capture the environment with a softened haze, much like Richter's blurred, abstracted landscapes on canvas.
Although the upcoming exhibition uses Hauser & Wirth's St Moritz location, none of the works are for sale. Last year, Richter left Marian Goodman Gallery after nearly four decades to join the roster of David Zwirner. Apparently, he sought out the German mega-collector himself, having historically worked with his father, Rudolf Zwirner. According to Philipp Kaiser, partner at Marian Goodman, since the artist retired from painting in 2017, “the Richter market has migrated mainly to the secondary market”. In recent years, this already robust market has grown, perhaps because for the first time it began to feel that supply could be limited.
David Zwirner's exclusive representation opened earlier this year with an exhibition in New York featuring pre-2017 paintings and new works on paper. It appears, however, that Richter did not completely abandon his painting practice. Last year he presented 31 new works made with glass paint at the Beyeler Foundation in Switzerland, a welcome surprise. Putting his affairs in order, the artist also arranged for the permanent loan of 100 paintings of the Nazi concentration camp Birkenau to the National Gallery in Berlin in 2021. Richter hopes they will never be sold.
Richter's Engadine paintings will be exhibited at Hauser & Wirth and the Segantini Museum, both in St Moritz. These works are typical of the artist's landscapes in the way they simultaneously evoke ancient romantic ideals about nature, combined with a distinctly contemporary ambiguity, thanks to Richter's gift for building, mixing and scraping off layers of pigment. Both locations will also feature smaller-scale painted photographs by the Engadin artist, which feature some of the region's landmarks such as Piz Materdell mountain and Lake Sils. These began as descriptive documents but, through the application of paint, metamorphosed into exquisite abstract prints.
“The Engadine has long been a center of creativity and has held great significance for generations of artists who, like Richter, have been captivated by its stunning natural beauty and long-standing cultural tradition,” commented Iwan Wirth. “He shares with us a deep connection with the region as a gallery with Swiss heritage.”
Furthermore, 39 photographs of Sils Maria taken by Richter and included in his book “December”, published by Suhrkamp in 2010, will be on display at the Nietzsche-Haus. “Gerhard Richter first exhibited photographs painted at the Nietzsche-Haus 31 years ago,” said Mirella Carbone, artistic director of the Segantini Museum and Nietzsche-Haus board member. “Since then, there has been a wonderful relationship between the artist and the museum, which will be further strengthened with this exhibition.”
Source: Artnet News