Gerhard Richter: Overpainted Photographs

Gerhard Richter – Overpainted Photographs is a catalogue published on the occasion of the homonymous exhibition at Sies + Höke in 2023. The exhibition presents over 60 Overpainted Photographs by Gerhard Richter dating from the years 1989 to 2018, illuminating this important part of Richter's œuvre. Overpainted Photographs were created by Richter from the late 1980s onwards. Despite their small format, they have a significant status within the artist’s œuvre: like no other group of works, they embody the interface between the representation of photographic image content and abstract painting. Through photography, a representational motif is conveyed pictorially, while at the same time an abstract colour matter is applied to the surface. These two levels of reality appear as an interlocking unity and enter into a close, tension-filled and subtle connection. Across 304 pages, this monographic catalogue features reproductions of the exhibited works with a particular focus on illuminating their fine details. The catalogue includes a reprinted essay by Siri Hustvedt as well as new texts by Dietmar Elger and Mark Godfrey.