Richter exhibition offers to transport homebound Swiss to new landscapes

By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi

ZURICH (Reuters) - An exhibition of German artist Gerhard Richter's landscapes offers to transport viewers at the Kunsthaus Zurich to faraway vistas even as coronavirus restrictions keep many close to home.

"There have been many retrospectives over the last decades, but we wanted to also introduce little-known works to public view," curator Catherine Hug said of the museum's decision to focus on Richter's landscape works.

Comprised of 80 paintings and around 60 further works, the exhibition features many of Richter's photo paintings, including "Clouds" (1970), depicting natural landscapes that at first glance might be mistaken for photographs, as well as the sprawling abstract canvas "Sankt Gallen" (1989) and a number of photo-collages and other works.

Born in Dresden in 1932, 89-year-old Richter ranks among the best-selling living artists, having gained fame for his early realist paintings and later abstract paintings and experimental mixed-media works.

The exhibition opens on Friday with limited visitor numbers as pandemic restrictions in Switzerland remain in place, and runs until July 25.

"We're in a situation of very limited mobility at the moment. In the absence of alternatives of what to do with one's free time, the theme of travel and landscape couldn't be more fitting as a means to nourish that lack through an artistic journey," Hug said.

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Janet Lawrence)