[K-Women Talk]A Giant of Contemporary Art: At the Boundary of Philosophy and Art

One day in May, I visited the Neue Nationalgallerie in Berlin to view the works of Gerhard Richter on display. The exhibition consisted of 100 pieces donated by Richter himself. Various types of paintings he experimented with were exhibited, allowing a comprehensive look into Richter's artistic world.

While based on the art form of painting, the exhibition showcased diverse experimental attempts that transcended traditional painting styles. In his photo paintings (paintings that imitate photographs projected by a projector and then retouched), individual images that might have been overlooked as mere photographic realism were sublimated into universal meanings evoking memories through retouching. The works with mirrors applied over the painting frames were designed so that viewers see themselves looking at the painting. Sometimes appearing as a clear full-length mirror, sometimes in blood-red hues, and sometimes with the German flag as a background, the viewer becomes part of the artwork. The large painting composed of thousands of small square blocks in various colors represented the pinnacle of abstract art, breaking all existing notions about paintings. Although it seemed like it would create no meaning, from a distance it produced a sophisticated and dazzling image.

The piece that overwhelmed me the most was the one about the Holocaust. It was exhibited alongside a photograph showing bodies being cremated in a peaceful landscape, and Richter’s work that followed emitted tremendous inner energy. The artist speaks to the public through his work, which conveys certain images or messages. Richter’s Holocaust piece seemed to radiate an intense shiver that struck the whole body. Perhaps due to the artist’s empathy with the Holocaust, it was somewhat eerie that such a powerful resonance could be felt in a painting rather than a video. It showed how a great artistic spirit deeply feeling pain internally reflects historical events.

The meaning of a perspective filtered through a single artist is profound and vast. The era’s anguish sublimated by a sensitive artistic spirit represents the most delicate wounds and the noblest self-esteem. The internal sublimation of historical events realized through the artist’s existence is a purification of social consciousness.

Viewing Richter’s works makes one question which of our own artworks have fiercely sublimated the era’s anguish.

He refuses to have his works defined or intended with any specific meaning. While revealing his existence within the world of art, he pursues creative attempts amid constant uncertainty.

The atmosphere in Berlin is filled with freedom. At the Brandenburg Gate, the pride of breaking down the ideological barrier that divided East and West Germany and creating a unified system with their own hands was palpable. The streets conveyed a confident freedom that had dismantled boundaries. As the center of contemporary art, Berlin carried a seriousness where no phenomenon related to our existence was treated lightly, and a sense of liberation as if all experimental spirits worldwide had gathered in this square. In Berlin, artists are like priests freely exploring the world of truth, and there seems to be no doubt that Gerhard Richter represents the artistic spirit of Berlin.

Jeong Seunghee, CEO of Jimobi