Gerhard Richter

Germany’s most sought-after contemporary artist, Gerard Richter was one of the pioneers of the new European Painting movement, and has dealt with everything from photorealism to abstract painting. Recently Richter has admitted to having destroyed much of his work over the decades, sometimes for completely inexplicable reasons.

The main reason, he cites, is because of his dislike of how the public perceives him as a famous name – altering the value of the art he creates just because he’s “well-known”.

That being said, Richter has also admitted to some amount of regret regarding his bizarre urges, wondering if he has denied the artistic world something valuable. If the critical response to his previous work is anything to go by, the answer to that question is yes.