Lake piece (backlight)

Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) is one of the most influential living artists of our time, celebrated for both his abstract and photorealistic works. Throughout his career, he has challenged the notion of a single artistic style, moving fluidly between painting, photography, and glass installations — much like Picasso and Jean Arp before him. Among his most iconic creations are the monumental color field works 1025 Farben and 4096 Colours, the latter selling at Christie’s New York for nearly four million dollars. Richter’s legacy extends beyond the art market: in 2007 he designed the immense stained-glass window of Cologne Cathedral, a masterpiece of 1,263 squares in 72 colors, directly inspired by his earlier exploration of color grids. His work embodies both intellectual rigor and visual poetry, making Richter a central figure in postwar and contemporary art.