Paris welcomes the Gerhard Richter’s exhibition — a landmark retrospective of an iconic rainter

From October 17th, 2025 to March 2nd, 2026, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris will present a landmark Gerhard Richter exhibition, bringing together more than six decades of work by one of the world’s most influential contemporary artists. The retrospective spans 275 pieces, from early photo-based paintings to monumental abstractions, glass sculptures, and delicate drawings — offering the most comprehensive view yet of Richter’s creative journey.

A defining moment for influential contemporary artists

Continuing its tradition of presenting major retrospectives of key 20th- and 21st-century figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Joan Mitchell, Mark Rothko, and David Hockney, the Fondation Louis Vuitton dedicates its entire gallery space to Gerhard Richter. Born in Dresden in 1932, the artist escaped East Germany in 1961 and has lived and worked in Cologne ever since. His practice continually questions the essence of painting and the relationship between image, memory, and abstraction.

Richter’s lifelong fascination with the act of seeing and the mechanics of representation runs through every period of his work. The Gerhard Richter exhibition traces this evolution chronologically, illuminating his constant experimentation and refusal to be confined to a single style or movement.

Highlights from one of the major art exhibitions in Paris

Among the most striking works presented is Tisch (1962), often regarded as Richter’s first significant painting. Based on a magazine photograph of a table, the image is partly blurred and obscured — a gesture that would come to define his exploration of the tension between photographic realism and painterly abstraction.

The exhibition also features the celebrated 48 Portraits (1972), first shown at the Venice Biennale. These monochromatic depictions of male intellectuals — scientists, philosophers, and composers — reveal Richter’s ongoing interrogation of history, representation, and authorship. Their formal restraint contrasts sharply with the emotive energy of his later abstractions.

Another pivotal moment in the show is the October 18, 1977 series, on exceptional loan from MoMA. These paintings, based on photographs of members of the Red Army Faction, reflect Richter’s profound engagement with German history, collective trauma, and the politics of memory.

In the later galleries, visitors encounter the luminous Cage Paintings (2006), an homage to composer John Cage, where layers of color are dragged, scraped, and dissolved to create a rhythm that feels almost musical. The Birkenau cycle (2014), inspired by rare photographs taken inside Auschwitz, transforms unspeakable historical horror into pure abstraction — a somber meditation on the limits of representation.

An ever-evolving vision

Throughout the exhibition, glass and steel sculptures punctuate the galleries, echoing Richter’s ongoing fascination with perception and reflection. Three dedicated rooms display drawings, watercolors, and overpainted photographs — quieter moments that reveal his sensitivity to chance, gesture, and the passage of time.

Richter’s decision to stop painting in 2017 did not mark an end, but a shift in focus. His recent drawings, some created as late as 2024, demonstrate a continued curiosity about form, process, and the unconscious movement of the hand.

A landmark in the landscape of art exhibitions in Paris

Curated by Dieter Schwarz and Nicholas Serota, this vast retrospective stands as one of the most significant art exhibitions in Paris in recent years. It not only celebrates Gerhard Richter’s unparalleled contribution to painting but also affirms his place among the most influential contemporary artists shaping modern visual culture.

Don’t miss this exceptional Gerhard Richter exhibition, on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton from October 17, 2025 to March 2, 2026 — a rare opportunity to witness the full spectrum of an artist who continues to redefine what painting can be.