Full-spectrum: Gerhard Richter’s Colour Charts at Dominique Lévy
Concealed round the back of Dominique Lévy's first-floor Bond Street gallery is a typical photo-painting from Gerhard Richter’s mid-1960s greyscale period. It is out of place in this gathering of the artist’s Colour Charts, a dozen colour-block paintings inspired by a Ducolux paint-sample card from a Düsseldorf hardware store.
But it is the big surprise of this Frieze-season show, curated by Lock Kresler. Kresler has mounted it perpendicular to the wall, like a pub sign, so you can see the reverse: a grid of reds in various shades. Back in 1965 when he painted it, Richter was reacting against Pop by experimenting with non-figurative, non-emotional colour compositions. But the artist harboured second thoughts about revealing such a brazen 'readymade' at that moment. Against the wall it went.
The suite of reds is the first evidence of the Richter most of us know. The following year – in an exhibition at Munich’s Galerie Friedrich & Dahlem that was violently criticised – he would unveil 19 such paintings, starting with 192 Colours, a grid of Ducolux squares 12 down and 16 across. This canvas is the most textural and painterly in the series, as Richter used sweeping brushstrokes with the oils he’d become used to in his work. The others are painted in a more neutral industrial lacquer, yet, says Levy, 'seeing them all together, they way they relate to each other, there’s a musicality. The togetherness is important.'
This is the first exhibition since 1966 to gather so many Colour Charts together in one place. Kresler has even included an original Ducolux chart in a mini-exhibit of source materials. By the 1970s, Richter had abandoned his colour-blocking for a different sort of multi-coloured abstract art. But the Colour Chart series was his entrée, too good to face the wall.
INFORMATION
'Gerhard Richter: Colour Charts' is on view until 16 January 2016
ADDRESS
Dominique Lévy
22 Old Bond Street
London, W1S 4PY
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Based in London, Ellen Himelfarb travels widely for her reports on architecture and design. Her words appear in The Times, The Telegraph, The World of Interiors, and The Globe and Mail in her native Canada. She has worked with Wallpaper* since 2006.
-
First look: Western Mongolia meets Kew Gardens in John Pawson and Oyuna Tserendorj’s cashmere throws
Architectural designer John Pawson and cashmere designer Oyuna Tserendor have collaborated on a cashmere throw collection inspired by Pawson’s 70m Lake Crossing in the Royal Botanical Gardens
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
How to buy art: the accessible new market
Thanks to a growing pool of art advisers, digital intelligence and collector groups, buyers are better equipped than ever
By Annabel Keenan Published
-
The coolest design-led coffee shops in Seoul
Seoul counts more coffee shops per capita than any other city in the world – cut straight to our six must-visit spots
By Robert Schneider Published
-
Frieze London 2024: everything to see and do
As London gears up for Frieze Week (9-13 October 2024), here are the must-sees inside and outside the fair
By Amah-Rose Abrams Last updated
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine South
Gerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Frieze LA 2024 guide: the art, gossip and buzz
Our Frieze LA 2024 guide includes everything you need to know and see in and around the fair
By Renée Reizman Published
-
Andrea Bowers’ sculptural chandelier for Ruinart reflects a shared commitment to environmental conservation
Andrea Bowers has partnered with Ruinart to create a work to be unveiled at Frieze LA, before it finds a permanent home at Maison Ruinart’s HQ in Reims
By Hannah Silver Published
-
MJ Harper’s performance piece at London’s Koko will close Frieze Week in style
Artist MJ Harper will premiere ‘Arias for a New World’ at Koko in London this Sunday, 15 October 2023
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
The Modern Institute explores otherworldly narratives at Frieze London 2023
The Modern Institute is showcasing the work of artists Rachel Eulena Williams, Jim Lambie and Andrew Sim and more
By Anne Soward Published
-
Quayola x LG OLED bring digital Impressionism to Frieze London
Quayola x LG OLED present Jardins d’Été, an immersive work that mixes Old Masters’ florals with super vivid 4K technology
By Simon Mills Published