History of Experimentation Gerhard Richter Retrospective Perplexing, Unpredictable, Challenging by Carolyn Chapman A young woman stares ahead blankly with an indifferent, almost bored look on her face. Her hand is crossed over her arm, as in a high school yearbook photograph thatís slightly out of focus. But itís not. Itís actually a black-and-white painting of the last studio portrait taken before this woman became an underground terrorist. The other paintings in this series, which can be seen at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, convey a greater sense of urgency. Theyíre charged with energy, death and dangerous passion, some blurred to the point of being nearly unrecognizable. A dead body dangles, hanging from the ceiling of a jail cell. There are two versions of a corpse on the ground and three versions of the head and upper body of another dead man, painted in varying degrees of blurriness and shades of gray and black. Finally, thereís a funeral: three coffins passing through a massive crowd of supporters and police. This series of 15 paintings, titled ìOctober 18, 1977,î probab ly brought German artist Gerhard Richter more attention outside of Germany than any of his previous other works. Based on photographs, newspaper clippings, video footage and images from police archives, these scenes document the deaths of several radical students-turned-terrorists who belonged to the Baader-Meinhof group, which staged a series of bombings, robberies and shootings in West Germany during the 1970s. The three portrayed in Richterís paintings were all found dead in their prison cells, the deaths officially and suspiciously declared suicides. If youíve never encountered the work of Gerhard Richter, you might not know quite what to make of it after walking through the first few rooms of his much-awaited exhibition at the Hirshhorn. ìGerhard Richter: Forty Years of Paintingîópreviously in New York (at The Museum of Modern Art), Chicago and San Franciscoóis Richterís most comprehensive North American exhibition, and Washington is the final stop on its tour. In this exceptionally put together retrospective of his career, hauntingly beautiful landscapes hang opposite spare gray canvases. Brightly colored abstracts vie for attention with Richterís version of ìAnnunciation After Titianî and a Vermeer-like portrait of his wife. His photo-based paintings contrast with his calculated color chart paintings. And his paintings of a bombed postwar Germany and other historically tied events are a far cry from his still lifes of toilet paper rolls. Richter is clearly an artist who doesnít want to stick to one theme. Largely unfamiliar to Americans, the prolific Richter is one of Europeís most influential, unpredictable and challenging living artists. His works are so hard to pin down and characterize that even he canít do it. Richter switches easily, and often, between abstraction and realism. His fascination with photography, however, is what he is perhaps most recognized for. Richter strives to paint perfect replicas of photographs, whether theyíre family portraits or newspaper clippings, then blurring the images to varying degrees. His abstract paintings, which at times look calculated but always rely heavily on chance (he often uses homemade instruments to create them), have also been the topic of much debate in the art world. Itís no wonder that historical events play such a prominent role in Richterís work. He was born in Dresden and his formative years coincided with the rise and fall of Hitler, the lasting effects of World War II and the emergence of communism. His first formal art training began at the Art Academy in Dresden at the age of 19, where he was educated in Soviet-style socialist realism. He later escaped to West Germany and settled in D¸sseldorf shortly before the construction of the Berlin Wall. There, Richter became fascinated with Western modern art, particularly with what was coming out of the United States. He began experimenting with different styles, which is essentially what heís still doing today. His art, however, has consistently remained carefully calculated and detail oriented. The last time Richterís work was shown in a museum in the United States was in the 1980s, and he has accomplished much since then. ìGerhard Richter: Forty Years of Paintingî is likely to bring Richter many new fans, and probably a few critics. But either way, the exhibition is long overdue in this country. ìGerhard Richter: Forty Years of Paintingî runs through May 18 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue at 7th Street, SW. For more information, please call (202) 357-2700 or visit http://hirshhorn.si.edu. Carolyn Chapman is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.