Richter 858: Eight Abstract Pictures - Hardcover

Breskin, David; Hickey, Dave; Kertess, Klaus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0971861005 ISBN 13: 9780971861008

Publisher: Shifting Foundation, 2002

Synopsis

Gerhard Richter's abstractions are profound and beautiful, though perplexing. After all these years, they still present a curious challenge: what, exactly, are they? Richter 858 explores this question by focusing on one suite of extraordinary pictures painted in 1999, soon after his return to work following a serious stroke. Both investigation and celebration, this book brings together image, music and text in a uniquely compelling way: contributors include the great guitarist and composer Bill Frisell, two sharp-eyed critics, and a baker's dozen of prominent, award-winning poets. Housed in an aluminium slipcase, this lavish volume features the largest, most sumptuous and most accurate reproductions of any Richter work. The eight paintings of the suite are shown at more than half-scale, and also, quite untraditionally, presented unbound on heavy paper in a pocket at the back of the book - allowing readers to mix, match and re-present the work for themselves outside the confines of the printed volume. Forty details from the paintings are also reproduced in large-format, accompanied by the poems and texts.

These brilliant passages - rich in incident and intervention, and ranging from the coolly sublime to the loudly riotous - make fascinating pictures in their own right. Additionally, a double gatefold opens to show all eight paintings in panoramic view. Richter 858 presents an elegant, if raucous, meeting ground for one of the world's most important contemporary artists and a diverse chorus of American music, poetry and criticism.

About this edition

• Publisher: Shifting Foundation
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0971861005
• ISBN 13: 9780971861008
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112