Join The Collection to save, track, and explore works like this.

Gerhard Richter — Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting)
Gerhard Richter

Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting)

1977

This work exemplifies Gerhard Richter's signature photo painting technique, wherein abstract gestural marks intersect with photorealistic imagery to create a visual tension between representation and abstraction. Dominated by luminous yellows and greens punctuated by deep browns and vivid reds, the composition emerges from the artist's characteristic process of layering squeegee strokes across photographic source material. The blurred, unfocused quality suggests forms glimpsed through obscured glass or water, a motif that recurs throughout Richter's exploration of perception and mediation. The work resists fixed interpretation, inviting viewers to oscillate between recognizing illusionistic depth and confronting the material surface of paint itself.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Overall

Notes

David Zwirner, 'Landschaften', May 7 – July 10, 2026, 537 West 20th Street, New York. Curated survey of Gerhard Richter's landscape painting from 1965 to 2005.

For Sale

Start the Discussion

Request access to join the discussion

About this work

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting), 1977

This work exemplifies Gerhard Richter's signature photo painting technique, wherein abstract gestural marks intersect with photorealistic imagery to create a visual tension between representation and abstraction. Dominated by luminous yellows and greens punctuated by deep browns and vivid reds, the composition emerges from the artist's characteristic process of layering squeegee strokes across photographic source material. The blurred, unfocused quality suggests forms glimpsed through obscured glass or water, a motif that recurs throughout Richter's exploration of perception and mediation. The work resists fixed interpretation, inviting viewers to oscillate between recognizing illusionistic depth and confronting the material surface of paint itself.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 200.7 x 300.7 cm
Year
1977
Seen at
David Zwirner Gallery, Manhattan, United States

Related themes

Modernist Painting, Visual Perception, Institutional Critique, Photo-Painting, Oil Canvas, Layered Composition, Yellow Green, Conceptual Art, Abstract Painting, Color Field, Gestural Abstraction, Squeegee Technique, German Postwar, Photorealist Influence, 1970s Practice, Material Surface, Representational Abstraction, Blurred Imagery

More works by Gerhard Richter

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago, Sebastián Naranjo, Kyle Stewart, Alex Capecelatro, Brittany Laques