Gerhard Richter: 81 Drawings

An artist's book to accompany Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne exhibition 81 Drawings - 1 STRIP Image - 1 Edition.

With this project, Richter explores the significance of the art of drawing in the 21st century as a source of inspiration within the visual arts and questions its role as an existential form of expression of human intellect and its creative power.

The painter's studio has been abandoned, the work of the paintings has been completed. In the secular seclusion of his studio, Gerhard Richter now creates drawings that have to live up to his self-imposed maxim: "The real thing, the most difficult thing, however, is to make something that is good." This is especially true for drawing, since every pentimento, every uncertainty and inconsistency would leave traces on the paper.

This artist book follows Richter's concept in detail. He has made the selection of mostly colour drawings from 2022-2024 which are reproduced in their original format as facsimile panels. A cropped strip painting running across six double pages defines the seven sections.