03.12.2017, 14:00 - 15:30

Talk: Dieter Schwarz

To see everything – to understand nothing

 
On December 3, 2017 at 2 p.m., Herbert Foundation invites you to a lecture by Dieter Schwarz (former director of Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland) about the notion of the ‘oeuvre’ in Gerhard Richter’s artistic practice. Philippe Van Cauteren, artistic director of S.M.A.K. Gent, will introduce the lecture.

In his talk, Dieter Schwarz, will discuss some of Richter’s works which are part of the collection of Herbert Foundation, like 1024 Farben in 4 Permutationen (1973) and 128 Details from a Picture (1978), as well as works shown at the artist’s exhibition at S.M.A.K.

Although Richter is a unique artist and his figurative paintings participate in the tradition of painting, he should be considered within the framework of contemporary artists like Carl Andre and Sol LeWitt.

4 Glasscheiben (1966), as a key piece in Gerhard Richter’s oeuvre, is the starting point of this talk on the basic and often seemingly contradictory issues of his art. On the one hand, 4 Glasscheiben questions the characteristics of the image, the duality of transparency / opacity and the notion of the mirror as a perfect representation of reality. On the other hand, the work also includes a ‘coincidence factor’, which is a frequently recurring element in Richter’s work.
In his artistic practice, Richter is always aware of the ambiguous position he takes as a creative artist; even though he is forced to make decisions, the artistic process can’t be determined completely.
 

Dieter Schwarz, former director of Kunstmuseum Winterthur (Switzerland), is curator, author and consultant for modern and contemporary art. He curated numerous exhibitions and wrote publications on art from early Modernism to the present day, with a particular emphasis on recent American, Italian and German art. He realised different publications on Gerhard Richter a.o. ‘Gerhard Richter: Zeichnungen 1964-1999. Werkverzeichnis’ (1999) and ‘Gerhard Richter: Books’ (2014).
 

This talk is organised in collaboration with S.M.A.K. Gent and takes place in the context of the exhibition Gerhard Richter / About Painting, which is shown from 21.10.2017 to 18.02.2018.

 
Practical details

Language: English
Location: Herbert Foundation, Raas van Gaverestraat 108
The admission fee is 14 euros (8 euros for students) and should be paid in cash. Limited seats available.
Please reserve in advance by sending an e-mail to reservation@herbertfoundation.org