100 Works for Berlin

The exhibition shows for the first time the long-term loan from the Gerhard Richter Art Foundation to the Neue Nationalgalerie.

The central work in the exhibition is the series "Birkenau" (2014), consisting of four large-format, abstract paintings. "Birkenau" is the result of Richter’s long and in-depth engagement with the Holocaust and the possibilities of representing it. The works are based on four photographs taken in the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, which the artist transposed with charcoal and oil paint to four canvases before gradually painting over them abstractly. With each layer of paint, the depiction of the original drawing disappeared a little more, until it eventually became invisible. The work also includes a large four-part mirror, which is positioned opposite the four "Birkenau" canvases, creating another level of reflection.

Alongside the "Birkenau" series, other works from various phases of Richter’s career will be exhibited, among them "Squatters’ House" (1989), "4,900 Colors" (2007), and "Strip" (2013/2016). There is also another large group of works from Richter’s striking series of overpainted photographs, in which the artist addresses the tension between photography and painting on a new level.

The presentation was developed in close collaboration with the artist. In the future, curatorial and artistic interventions by artists from various fields will present Gerhard Richter’s art in ever-new contexts.