Gerhard Richter
PAMUL , 2023
Ten-color inkjet print on paper
16 3/4 x 21 1/8 inches (42.6 x 53.7 cm)
Framed: 17 7/8 x 22 1/4 inches (45.5 x 56.5 cm)
Edition of 80, 16 AP
Printed by farbanalyse, Cologne
Published by David Zwirner, New York
Signed, dated, and numbered
To create PAMUL , the artist began with a drawing from April 2023 and subjected it to a series of notable alterations during the printing process, resulting in a new composition that expresses a subtle but intentional visual evolution from the drawing. These changes include enlarging the overall image size, augmenting the drawing with additional markings, removing the signature and date from the recto, and adding a light cream border around the entire image.
Translating images from one medium to another and back again is one of Richter’s continued artistic pursuits. From his early oil paintings of photographic portraits to the digital manipulation of his hand-executed drawings, Richter continually shifts between different modes of reality and perception.
By installing prints adjacent to their ink counterparts, Richter visually investigates the possibilities and limits of image reproduction, dissemination, and interpretation—themes carried forth in the artist’s newest edition.
“Richter has been fascinated by the possibilities opened up by reproduction ever since he first engaged with the medium of photography.… for him, the perfect, unassailable image counts for more than the quasi-sacrosanct hand-painted original.”
—Dieter Schwarz, curator
“A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it’s a prerequisite.”
—Gerhard Richter, 1972
