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Gerhard Richter — Wolken (Clouds)
Gerhard Richter

Wolken (Clouds)

1982

This abstract composition exemplifies Gerhard Richter's innovative photo painting technique, wherein photographic source material is systematically obscured and reinterpreted through gestural brushwork. The canvas is divided into two panels presenting a layered dialogue between representation and abstraction, with green and gray brushstrokes descending from the upper portion like organic forms or atmospheric phenomena. The lower sections reveal luminous blue grounds punctuated by delicate linear elements in red and white, while the right panel introduces vibrant accents of yellow, orange, and red that emerge from densely worked dark passages. The work demonstrates Richter's characteristic method of translating photographic imagery into painterly abstraction, creating a visual tension between recognizable subject matter and non representational gesture. The title references clouds, though the painting resists literal depiction, instead evoking atmospheric conditions through color, mark making, and compositional ambiguity.

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. On loan from The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the James Thrall Soby Bequest and purchase, 1985.

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About this work

Gerhard Richter, Wolken (Clouds), 1982

This abstract composition exemplifies Gerhard Richter's innovative photo painting technique, wherein photographic source material is systematically obscured and reinterpreted through gestural brushwork. The canvas is divided into two panels presenting a layered dialogue between representation and abstraction, with green and gray brushstrokes descending from the upper portion like organic forms or atmospheric phenomena. The lower sections reveal luminous blue grounds punctuated by delicate linear elements in red and white, while the right panel introduces vibrant accents of yellow, orange, and red that emerge from densely worked dark passages. The work demonstrates Richter's characteristic method of translating photographic imagery into painterly abstraction, creating a visual tension between recognizable subject matter and non representational gesture. The title references clouds, though the painting resists literal depiction, instead evoking atmospheric conditions through color, mark making, and compositional ambiguity.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 200 x 260 cm
Year
1982
Seen at
David Zwirner Gallery, Manhattan, United States

Related themes

Mark Making, Photo-Painting, Conceptual Art, Abstract Painting, Oil On Canvas, Modernist Practice, Color Field, Gestural Abstraction, Landscape Abstraction, German Contemporary Art, Atmospheric Abstraction, Blue Palette

More works by Gerhard Richter

Collected by

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