Daniel Richter
Daniel Richter was born in 1962 in Eutin (Germany). Today, he lives and works in Berlin. The artist has shaped painting in Germany since the 1990s as few others have done. In his large-scale oil paintings, Richter dovetails set pieces of art history, mass media and pop culture into idiosyncratic, narrative pictorial worlds. Daniel Richter studied 1992-1996 with Werner Büttner – one of the protagonists, along with Martin Kippenberger, of the revival of expressive trends in painting during the 1980s – at the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts, and worked as assistant to Albert Oehlen. Initially, he did abstract paintings, with a cosmos of forms intensely colourful to the point of being psychedelic – somewhere between graffiti and intricate ornamentation.
Since 2002 he has painted large-scale scenes filled with figures, often inspired by reproductions from newspapers or history books. These show conflict and menace in excessive aggression and vitality. The symbolist painter James Ensor and the pioneer of expressionism, Edvard Munch, might be seen here as Richter's artistic forebears. The representation of artificial light, flashlight, thermal image or X-ray picture evokes an atmosphere of artificiality and nervosity. The theme of total surveillance seems to be an important motif in Richter's œuvre – the association with infra-red and thermal imaging cameras is unavoidable, revealing a paranoid view. Richter's subjects suggest allusion to current politics, but on closer inspection, we see that this is not so.
Awards
2009
Art prize, Finkenwerder
2001
Sponsorship award for young art, Schleswig-Holstein
1999
Art Prize, Bremen
1998
Otto Dix Prize, Gera
Solo exhibitions
2018
I Should Have Known Better, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, UK
2017
Le Freak, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Lonely Old Slogans, Camden Arts Center, London, UK
Lonely Old Slogans, 21-er Haus Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria
Im Atelier Liebermann: Daniel Richter/Jack Bilbo, Max Liebermann Stiftung, Berlin, Germany
Music for Orgies, GRIMM, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Grafik für Alles, Galerie Sabine Kunst, Munich, Germany
2016
Lonely Old Slogans, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
Wild Thing, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, California, USA
Half-Naked Truth, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2015
Hello, I love you, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany
2014
spandrillen – mamillen – ronald, Kunstverein Augsburg, Germany
Chromos goo bugly, Galerie im Taxispalais des Landres Tirol, Innsbruck, Austria
2013
Daniel Richter 6 Neue Bilder, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Esbjerg Art Museum, Esbjerg, Denmark
2012
Voyage, Voyage, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
A concert of purpose and action, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, USA
2011
10001nacht, Contemporary Fine Arts. Berlin, Germany
Kestnergesellschaft, Hannover, Germany
2010
ANTI AWAY, Regina Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Spagotzen, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Museum der Moderne/Rupertinum, Salzburg, Austria
2009
Imitators be there, Galerie Haas, Zurich, Switzerland
Essl Museum, Klosterneuberg/Vienna, Austria
Love Parade, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Copenhagen, Denmark
„Oh la la,“ Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Kunstpreis Finkenwerder 2009, Kunsthaus Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
2008
A Major Survey, Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA
Die Palette, CAC Malaga Centro de Arte, Malaga, Spain
Die Idealisten, David Zwirner, New York, USA
Rock und Polizei, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, USA
2007
Daniel Richter, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands
2006
Grimm Fine Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Huntergrund, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Switzerland
Daniel Richter und Uwe Lausen, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Die Peitsche der Erinnerung, with Jonathan Meese, Kunsthaus Stade, Stade; E-Werk, Freiberg, Kunstverein Rosenheim, Rosenheim; Helms Museum, Hamburg, Germany
2005
Acht Stunden sing kein Tag, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Pink Flag – White Horse, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
2004
The Morning After, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA
White Horse Pink Flag, The Power Plant, Toronto; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2003
Hirn, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany
Daniel Richter, Bernier/Eliades Gallery, Athens, Greece
2002
Grünspan, K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany
2001
Billard um halb Zehn, Kunsthalle, Kiel, Germany
La Cause du Peuple, Patrick Painter Inc., Los Angeles, USA
2000
Für Immer, mit Tal R, Society for Contemporary Art in Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Die Frau, Rock’n’Roll, Tod – nein danke!, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Je ne suis pas un robot, Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
1999
Fool on a Hill, Galerie Johnen & Schöttle, Cologne, Germany
Experiment Freund, Galerie Freund/Wind, Vienna, Austria
1998
Organisierte Kriminalität, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
1997
17 Jahre Nasenbluten, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
1995
Neue Bilder, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Group exhibitions
2019
Jonathan Meese, Albert Oehlen, Daniel Richter. Works from the Hall Foundation, Hall Art Foundation, Schloss Derneburg, Derneburg, Germany
Jonathan Meese, Daniel Richter, Tal R: The Men Who Fell from Earth, EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
Izvor Pende & Daniel Richter: Swimming Together, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
2018
Across Boundaries, Draiflessen Collection, Mettingen, Germany
The Art of Recollecting, G2 Kunsthalle, Leipzig, Germany
Jonathan Meese, Daniel Richter, Tal R.: David Bowie, Kunsthaus Stade, Stade, Germany
This and That: Some Recent Acquisitions, Hall Art Foundation, Schloss Derneburg, Derneburg, Germany
Daniel Richter, Izvor Pende: Plivati zajedno, MMSU, Rijeka, Croatia
Musik für die Orgien, Galerie Grimm, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Swimming Together: Izvor Pende and Daniel Richter, Museum of Fine Arts, Split, Croatia,
German Encounters: Contemporary Masterworks from the Deutsche Bank Collection, Garage Gallery, Fire Station, Doha, Qatar
The Men Who Fell from Earth, Holstebro Kunstmuseum, Holstebro, Denmark
Im Atelier Liebermann: Daniel Richter/Jack Bilbo, Stiftung Brandenburger Tor, Max Liebermann Haus, Berlin, Germany
2016
A Question of Perspective, GRIMM, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014
Eurasia: A View on Painting, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Pantin, France
Unendlicher Spass, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankffurt, Germany
Landschaft nach 2000, Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirchem, Osnabrück, Germany
2013
DISASTER, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Pantin, France
Why Painting Now, Curated by_vienna, Vienna, Austria
Von Georg Baselitz bis Daniel Richter, Lyonel-Feininger Galerie, Quedlinburg, Germany
Dritte Welle - Die Gruppe SPUR, der Pop und die Politik, Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Papierarbeiten II - 70er Jahre bis heute, Galerie Max Weber Six Fiedrich, Munich, Germany
2012
Es lebe die Malerei! Junge Kunst aus der Sammlung Essl, Essl Collection, Klosterneuburg, Austria
Nightfall, Modemart, Debrecen, Hungary
HEUTE MALEREI, Kunstmuseum Magdeburg, Germany
Art and Press, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany
Gewoon Schilderen, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands
2011
Berlin zeichnet! , Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche, Osnabrück ; Festival der Tiere, Essl Collection, Klosterneuburg, Austria
2010
Hareng Saur: Ensor and Contemporary Art, S.M.A.K. Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent, Belgium
Permanent Trouble. Kunst aus der Sammlung Kopp München, Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany
Disquieted, Portland Art Musuem, Portland, USA
2009
60 Jahre – 60 Werke – Kunst aus der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany
Ferne Nähe – Natur in der Kunst der Gegenwart, Art Museum, Bonn, Germany
2008
Olaf Metzel, Markus Oehlen, Daniel Richter – Pictures, Galerie Andreas Höhne, Munich, Germany
2007
Passion for Art, Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg, Austria
Der Symbolismus und die Kunst der Gegenwart, Van der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany
2005
Styles und Stile. Aktuelle Malerei aus Deutschland aus der Sammlung Scharpff, Goethe, Institut Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
La nouvelle peinture Allemande, Le Musée d’Art Contemporain, Nîmes, France
Daniel Richter / Jonathan Meese, Kunsthaus, Stade, Germany
Falckenberg Collection, City Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
2006
Tokyo - Berlin / Berlin – Tokyo, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
2004
Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
2003
Heißkalt – Aktuelle Kunst aus der Sammlung Scharpff , Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Berlin – Moskau / Moskau – Berlin 1950 – 2000, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany
Ludwig Richter und seine Schüler + Daniel Richter, Academy of Fine Arts, Dresden, Germany
2002
Preis der Nationalgalerie, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
2001
Vantage Point, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Painting 2001, Victoria Miro Gallery, London, UK
2000
Europe - Different Perspectives in Painting, MuMi Museo Michetti, Francavilla al Mare, Italy
SALON, Delfina Project Space, London, UK
German Festival in India, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai; Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata; Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore; National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
1999
Richter Bohlen Koether, Galerie Freund / Wind, ViennaScorpio Rising, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Officina Europa, Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Bologna, Italy
Mozart on Television - New Painting from German, Deitch Projects, New York, USA
Gallery Swap - Contemporary Fine Arts at Sadie Coles, Sadie Coles SQ, London, UK
1997
Punch In Out, Kunsthaus, Hamburg, Germanx
Albert Oehlen, Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland
1995
Scharfer Blick, Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany
Public and private collections
AUSTRIA
Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg/Vienna
BELGIUM
Vanhaerents Art Collection Brussels
CANADA
National Gallery of Canada Ottawa
DENMARK
Louisiana Museum
FRANCE
Centre Pompidou Paris
Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg
GERMANY
Kunsthalle Kiel
Kunsthalle Hamburg
Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin
Sammlung Boros Berlin
Kunsthalle Bonn
Städel Museum Frankfurt
Kunsthalle Stuttgart
Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig
Gemeente Museum Den Haag
Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany
Deutsche Bank Collection Frankfurt
NETHERLANDS
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
USA
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York
Denver Art Museum