Painting, photography and digital reproduction unite in Gerhard Richter’s new sculpture on the plinth at Serpentine South.
The striped Strip-Tower nods to the German artist’s 2010 Strip Paintings, which themselves looked back to Abstract Painting 724-4, a painting created in 1990 that was then photographed. The resulting images were manipulated digitally on a software programme, before being divided into strips, which were stretched and laminated onto aluminium, and covered with Perspex.
Here, Richter revisits this mixed-media approach, casting striped ceramic tiles on panels in a cross-section that invites visitors inside in a play on patterns, repetition and reflection. The work forms the latest project in the Serpentine’s long-standing partnership with The Royal Parks to install public artworks in the public green havens.
‘This is a coda to the acclaimed Richter exhibition we hosted here at Serpentine South in 2008, titled “4900 Colours”,’ say Serpentine CEO Bettina Korek and artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist. ‘Strip-Tower is a three-dimensional manifestation of themes and methods that underpin Richter’s historic practice in painting, repetition, improvisation and chance and we are grateful to the artist, The Royal Parks and all our partners – specifically HENI – for this spectacular opportunity to build new connections between artists and audiences.’
'Strip-Tower' is at Serpentine South from 25 April – 27 October 2024
