Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild 776-1 (Abstract Painting), 1992. Photo Philips.

oil on canvas; 92 x 82.1 cm. (36 1/4 x 32 3/8 in.). Signed and numbered 'Richter 1992 776-1' on the reverse. Estimate £1,800,000 - 2,200,000

PROVENANCE: Anthony d'Offay Gallery, London

EXHIBITED: Tokyo, Fuji Television Gallery, 5 European Artists (Baselitz, Clemente, Kiefer, Kounellis, Richter), September – October 1994

LITERATURE: Pagé, Suzanne , Jacob, Wenzel, Springfield, Björn, König, Kasper, Buchloh, Benjamin H. D, Catalogue Raisonné 1962 - 1993, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit (1993), Catalogue Raisonné: 776-1

NOTE: One of the most prized and influential figures in Contemporary art, Gerhard Richter’s holds a legacy rivaled by few. His art demonstrates a masterly and experimental approach to oil-painting, fusing tradition and modernity and making for a myriad of interpretations. Oscillating between figurative, constructive and abstract designations, Richter returns to and builds upon his own archive of creative production, continually referring to and assembling techniques with heightened awareness.

Born in Dresden in 1932, the artist trained at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts from 1951-1956 before later attending the Dusseldorf Academy between 1961-1961. Having explored a number of styles during his artistic training, Richter rose to prominence in the early 1960s with his photographic paintings, works in which the artist reproduced photographs in oil. Focusing on figurative works throughout the early-part of his career, Richter nonetheless held a clear interest in the abstract, producing a number of non-figurative paintings during these formative years.

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