Gerhard Richter

"Schwarz, Rot, Gold" ("Black, Red, Gold")

born 1932 in Dresden, lives in Cologne.

On the other wall of the west entrance hall of the Reichstag Building opposing Sigmar Polkes Lightboxes, Gerhard Richter has installed a work (21 metres high and 3 metres wide) consisting of three equal surfaces of black, red and gold. The colours were applied to the reverse sides of large sheets of glass and recall, not without deeper meaning, the colours of the German flag.

However, both the tall vertical format and the reflecting glass surfaces (in which at a particular angle the reflection of the real flag flying in front of the Reichstag Building can be seen) make it clear that this is not a representation of a flag but an autonomous work of art.

By harmonising the proportions of his work with those of the wall on which it is mounted, and using minimal means, Richter has succeeded in creating a colourful counterweight to the entrance hall’s dominating architecture and in providing a focus upon which the visitor can rest his eyes amid the hustle and bustle of the hall.