GERHARD RICHTER: The Overpainted Photographs A Comprehensive Catalog

A monumental catalog of Richter’s overpainted photographs, a curious confrontation between two mediums that transforms their potency

Edited by Joe Hage and Hans Ulrich Obrist, this landmark publication offers the most comprehensive account of Gerhard Richter’s (born 1932) Overpainted Photographs, a body of work he began creating in the mid-1980s and developed over the following decades.
The illustrated six-volume edition, housed in an elegant slipcase, features contributions from esteemed cultural voices, including world-renowned curator of contemporary art Hans Ulrich Obrist; distinguished art critics Robert Storr and the late Achim Borchardt-Hume; literary giants Siri Hustvedt and Botho Strauss; as well as prominent art historians Dorothée Brill, Stefan Gronert, Aline Guillermet, Christine Mehring, Paul Moorhouse and Uwe M. Schneede.
The Overpainted Photographs, drawn mostly from the artist’s personal snapshots, depict landscapes, cityscapes, family moments and travels. Using oil paint or lacquer, Richter employs techniques such as pressing photos onto paint, flicking droplets and applying paint with squeegees or spatulas. The dialogue between the smooth photographic surface and the tactile texture of the paint―marked by gaps and ripples―invites associations with patterns, shapes and colors, ultimately challenging our perception of the captured reality.