Beschreibung:

Gerhard Richter Kegel (Cone) 1985 oil on canvas 102 3/8 x 78 3/4 in. (260 x 200.5 cm) Signed and dated “Richter 1985”on the reverse.
Provenance Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich David Nolan, New York, New York Private Collection Exhibited Los Angeles, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), The Image of Abstraction, July 10 – October 9, 1988 Literature D. Elger, Gerhard Richter; Bilder - Paintings 1962 – 1985, Köln, 1986, cat. no. 580-2, p.335, 401 (illustrated) K. Brougher, The Image of Abstraction, Los Angeles: Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1988 , p. 35 B.H.D. Buchloh, P. Gidal, B. Pelzer, Gerhard Richter vol III, 1962-1993, Edition Cantz, 1993, cat. no. 580-2 (illustrated) Video GERHARD RICHTER Kegel (Cone), 1985 Phillips former Chairman, Simon de Pury, presents Gerhard Richter's 'Kegel (Cone)', 1985. Oscillating between figurative, constructive and abstract designations, Richter returns to and builds upon his own archive of creative production, continually referring to and assembling techniques with heightened awareness. This intellectually rigorous method of practice is what imbues a physical and emotive layer to each of his works. 'Kegel (Cone),' 1985, is one of the most vibrant and luminous expressions of Richter's power and evidences its creator's title as master painter of the late Twentieth Century. Catalogue Essay Recognized as one of the preeminent painters of all time, Gerhard Richter’s artistic evolution throughout the decades has produced mesmerizing, evocative, and poetic works that culminate into a complete– and visually complex– oeuvre, contributing to art history in immeasurable ways. Oscillating between figurative, constructive and abstract designations, Richter returns to and builds upon his own archive of creative production, continually referring to and assembling techniques with heightened awareness. This intellectually rigorous method of practice is what imbues a physical and emotive layer to each of his works. The present lot, Kegel (Cone), 1985, is one ofthe most vibrant and luminous expressions of Richter’s power and evidences its creator’s title as master painter of the late Twentieth Century. The exuberant primary hues radiating from the surface of Kegel (Cone),1985, converge and crash into one another like tempestuous waves; they appear powerful enough to extend up towards celestial greatness before receding back into cool depths of grey, dark blue and emerald green. Here, Richter reveals a liminal space between depth and surface with each sweeping gesture of his brush stroke. As though in tandem, white and black lines of paint strike across the top of the canvas before fading into an isolated abyss. Emerging from these white and black lines, yellow brushstrokes appear to cascade diagonally down the canvas in graceful synchrony. A plummeting wave of blue pigment submerges the leftmost portion of the canvas in a sea of royal blues. The cerulean ribbons writhe across the expansive canvas, twirling and weaving among each other with iridescent radiance. Amidst Richter’s use of colors, a pulling effect transpires between form and abstraction, the textured trace of brushstrokes and the smooth wiping of paint. This tension is further heightened by the dynamic palette which blankets the canvas; the sapphire pigments, which occupy the left portion of the canvas, seem to challenge the scarlet strokes on the right. The left portion is contained and calm, while the crimson strokes climb with vitality towards the center of the canvas, threatening to engulf the entirety of the space with its hot flames. Out of this quarrel, a beaming golden curtain billows between the two chromatic adversaries. Ribbons of canary yellow float along the central seam; stretching their long arms out and over the canvas, the writhing ribbons imbue the entirety with brilliance and radiance. The layers of colors atop one another appear almost translucent, allowing their forbearers to emerge as if to show the foundations of the composition. Richter’s paintings function as windowed layers of color, each window subtly announcing its presence while the viewer peers