Cologne, Germany. The Cathedral’s window has been destroyed in Second World War and the original documentation of the artwork was lost. That made reconstruction impossible. Gerhard Richter, a 1932 born German artist, was asked to design a new stained glass window as a replacement for the provisional window done after the war. The window is a 113 m² pixel-collage of 11,500 squares in 72 colors, a reminiscent of the painting "4096 colors", done in 1974: a projection of digital noise. Richter did the work for free (the costs of about 350.000 Euro was donated).
Mosaic Window by Gerhard Richter, photo by melekalikimaka, flickr
Gerhard Richter is a superstar in the international art world. His diverse and hugely influential body of work ranges from quasi-photorealistic paintings to abstract compositions in brilliant colours. The Albertina is showing around 80 oil paintings, 80 watercolours and a selection of drawings that have been assembled for this major retrospective cover the many different phases of Richter’s artistic career from 1963 to 2007.
GERHARD RICHTER: RETROSPECTIVE
30 January - 3 May 2009
Albertina, Vienna
I've been there. Frankly, compared to the other windows of the church, this one is the ugliest one! not just because of a relation old values-new aesthetic, but because I found that the pattern of squares and color destroys the rich geometry of the frame and, furthermore and the light coming into the church.
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