Gerhard Richter Painting
Directed by Corinna Belz
Synopsis
One of the world's greatest living painters, the German artist Gerhard Richter has spent over half a century experimenting with a tremendous range of techniques and ideas, addressing historical crises and mass media representation alongside explorations of chance procedures. Infamously media-shy, he agreed to appear on camera for the first time in 15 years for a 2007 short by filmmaker Corinna Belz called Gerhard Richter's Window.
Her follow-up, Gerhard Richter Painting, is exactly that: a thrilling document of Richter's creative process, juxtaposed with intimate conversations (with his critics, his collaborators, and his American gallerist Marian Goodman) and rare archive material. From our fly-on-the-wall perspective, we watch the 79-year-old create a series of large-scale abstract canvases, using fat brushes and a massive squeegee to apply (and then scrape off) layer after layer of brightly colored paint. This mesmerizing footage, of a highly charged process of creation and destruction, turns Belz's portrait of an artist into a work of art itself.
Film Info
Release Year: 2012 Running Time: 97 Color Type: Color Country: Germany Language: German with English subtitles
GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING offers unprecedented insight into the life and work of one of the greatest artists of our time, and is a "gorgeously rendered work of art" (Variety) in its own right.
Legendary German painter Gerhard Richter granted filmmaker Corinna Belz access to his studio in the spring and summer of 2009, where he was working on a series of large abstract paintings. In quiet, highly concentrated images, the documentary provides a fly-on-the-wall perspective of the very personal, tension-filled process of artistic creation. Richter is his own worst critic, destroying multiple canvases before his remarkable creative spirit takes hold, and the astonishing final compositions emerge.
"Painting is another form of thinking," Richter once said, and GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING takes that premise seriously, exposing for the first time how he translates his thoughts onto a blank canvas. Beautifully shot and endlessly revealing, it "artfully and convincingly immerses us into the world of one of the greatest [painters], painting." (Village Voice)
Available from Kino Lorber in the USA only
Cast
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Gerhard Richter (himself)
Hubert Becker (himself)
Konstanze Ell (herself)
Norbert Arns (himself)
Sabine Moritz-Richter (herself)
Crew
- Directed by Corinna Belz
- Written by Corinna Belz
- Produced by Thomas Kufus
Reviews
"Magnificent and evocative...as close as cinema gets to tracking the impulses and paradoxes of a gifted imagination." -- Aaron Hillis,Village Voice
"Thrilling...akin to being in a museum that’s come alive." -- Nicolas Rapold, Film Comment
"Fascinating, even exciting...Mr. Richter communicates a pleasure in work, even at its most laborious." -- Rachel Saltz, The New York Times
"A stunning experience...bound to draw the attention of the art world everywhere." -- Dan Fainaru, Screen International
"A gorgeously rendered work of art. Offers fascinating insight...and a mesmerizing survey of [Richter's] complete oeuvre." -- Alissa Simon, Variety
"A must-see for followers of contemporary painting...one of the most important living painters shows how he does it." -- John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter
"Gerhard Richter Painting goes well beyond just being informational or educational to become something that offers its own kind of gripping suspense -- a sort of action movie of the soul. Highly Recommended." - DVD Talk
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Gerhard Richter working on "Abstract Painting (910-1)"
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc.
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Gerhard Richter in his studio
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
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Gerhard Richter working on "Abstract Painting (910-2)"
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
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Gerhard Richter working on "Abstract Painting (911-4)"
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
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Gerhard Richter in his studio
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
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Gerhard Richter
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
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Gerhard Richter working on "Abstract Painting (911-4)"
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
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Gerhard Richter working on "Abstract Painting (910-1)"
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
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Corinna Belz
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Credit: Kino Lorber, Inc
