From the outset, this film takes us straight into the bright, well-screened working areas of Gerhard Richter's studio in Cologne. We see how he paints, how he sees and evaluates his pictures and how he ponders, waits, rejects and revises them and sometimes destroys them and starts all over again. "Painting is a different way of thinking," Richter said early on in his career.

The film’s highly focused shots allow us participate in the artist’s work from the first brushstrokes through countless revisions and frequent overpaintings through to the final, decisive stage when the images have to assert themselves and stand up to his critical eye. It is a calm yet highly charged process of action and reflection, driven by years of experience and characterized by an intense physical presence.

Born near Dresden in 1932, Richter grew up under Nazi rule and then lived for 16 years in socialist East Germany, which he left a few months before the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. His fundamental skepticism towards all ideologies and belief systems has survived down to this day. He constantly looks for new angles and investigates the image of the world, which ultimately appears in every single painting he does.

The film shows the artist and his assistants Norbert Arns and Hubert Becker preparing for exhibitions in Cologne, London and New York and at working meetings with his New York gallerist Marian Goodman and art historian Benjamin H. D. Buchloh. However, the film’s main focus is the dialogue with the images. Our participation as viewers allows filmmaker Corinna Belz to show us the complex processes of artistic creation close-up. Our perception of the canvas expands and changes, with the images themselves becoming the real protagonists. GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING is a vivid portrait of an artist at work – and a fascinating film about the act of seeing in its own right.

Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

DW 

THU 02.02.2017 – 19:15 UTC
FRI 03.02.2017 – 01:15 UTC
FRI 03.02.2017 – 15:15 UTC
SAT 04.02.2017 – 05:15 UTC

DW (English)

SUN 12.02.2017 – 14:15 UTC
TUE 14.02.2017 – 03:15 UTC
THU 16.02.2017 – 09:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Amerika)

FRI 03.02.2017 – 09:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2

Part 2:

DW (English)

THU 09.02.2017 – 19:15 UTC
FRI 10.02.2017 – 01:15 UTC
FRI 10.02.2017 – 15:15 UTC
SAT 11.02.2017 – 05:15 UTC
SUN 19.02.2017 – 14:15 UTC
TUE 21.02.2017 – 03:15 UTC
THU 23.02.2017 – 09:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Deutsch+)

FRI 10.02.2017 – 09:15 UTC

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