Vija Celmins and Gerhard Richter: Double Vision

Vija Celmins (b. 1938, Riga) and Gerhard Richter (b. 1932, Dresden) are among the most internationally renowned artists of their generation. The exhibition brings together for the first time the work of these two artists, who live in New York and Cologne respectively, in a transatlantic dialogue that reveals surprising connections. In addition to thematic similarities and the fact that both have worked with photographic models throughout their careers, Celmins and Richter have a shared interest in the most elementary conditions of representation. What is reality? What is representation? And how can perception, seeing itself, be made visible?

Vija Celmins’s impressive paintings and drawings are rarely seen in Europe, and so the Hamburger Kunsthalle is pleased to contribute to bringing her work greater visibility and attention. With a prominent female artist as a dialogue partner, there is the possibility to re-examine and rediscover Gerhard Richter’s body of work in his home country.

The show includes approximately 60 paintings, drawings, prints, and objects from the 1960s to the present day. The dramaturgy of the double show ranges from an early artistic preoccupation with everyday objects to an examination of war and migration, to works that reflect on the philosophy of art. Visitors can discover fascinatingly realistic seascapes and an exploration of the color gray in the work of both artists, as well as a wide range of mirrorings and doublings, which address questions around the reality of the image. In the direct conversation between Celmins’s and Richter’s paintings, comparative seeing becomes possible, while particular aspects of their respective work are explored in greater depth in small, interspersed spaces.

Curator: Brigitte Kölle

Supported by: Terra Foundation for American Art, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Freunde der Kunsthalle e. V., Kulturstiftung der Länder, Quantum Immobilien AG,  Deutsche Bank AG, Rudolf Augstein Stiftung, U.S.-Generalkonsulat Hamburg, Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media