Die Welt
Signed Print

Like other works, such as IBM, Goldberg Variationen, and Bahnhof Hannover, this print indexes Richter’s interest in the  subject of contemporary German culture and society, as well as his own role as an artist within the wider German socio-cultural scene. Turning his attention to one of the major German broadsheet newspapers, Die Welt, the artist hones in on an article about his life and work entitled Die Welt des Gerhard Richter - ‘the world of Gerhard Richter’ - that is complete with an image of one of his ‘photopaintings’. A pun-filled mise-en-abyme referencing Richter’s status as one of Germany’s most famous artists, the newspaper-based print references the artist’s well-known role as the foremost critic of German Contemporary Art, as well his own personal sensibilities as a collector of images.

Designed by Richter himself, the newspaper features the following sub-heading: ‘Eine Zeitung als Sammlerstück: Gerhard Richter, der große Zweifler der Gegenwartskunst, hat eine komplette Ausgabe der 'Welt' gestaltet. Unr wir? Schauen und wundern uns' - ‘A newspaper as a collector's item: Gerhard Richter, the great doubter of contemporary art, has designed a complete issue of 'Die Welt'. And us? Look and wonder.’ A work that would not be out of place in Richter’s Atlas, the print is imbued with a sense of the artist’s scepticism of art as a leading force in today’s market and spectacle-orientated economies. Faintly mocking, the print reminds us that for some in Germany, Richter is a controversial figure.