Gerhard Richter to Open Permanent Pavilion in Qatar

A new permanent structure conceived by multidisciplinary artist Gerhard Richter will open in Doha on 20 November. Doha Pavilion, described as “a freestanding work of art and architecture”, will be home to a collection of Richter’s paintings and sculpture.

The pavilion—the construction costs of which have not been publicly disclosed—is located in MIA Park in Doha, the public space outside the Museum of Islamic Art. Brought into existence by architect Annabelle Selldorf, the pavilion will open the day before Rubaiya Qatar, the country’s new contemporary art quadrennial.

Selldorf described it as an “uncommon honour” to work on the project alongside Richter, as well as a privilege to contribute to Doha’s “extraordinary ensemble of contemporary architecture”. The artist, meanwhile, said the Qatar’s capital was “the right place and the only place” for his pavilion.

Designed to unite Richter’s ongoing practice investigating the nature of abstraction and visual representation, Doha Pavilion is a hexagonal structure externally clad with printed panels featuring repeating motifs relating to the artist’s 2011 book Patterns. This publication explored the creative process leading up to Richter’s Strip paintings, which saw the artist reproduce his 1990 work Abstract Painting (724–4) digitally, and divided the new image into vertical strips, doubling from two until he reached 8192.

Mirroring and repeating these strips on the exterior of the pavilion results in a symmetrical pattern reminiscent of the geometry of traditional Islamic art.

Inside the pavilion, the theme continues with three Strip paintings, continuing the process of adapting Richter’s original abstract painting, this time into horizontal strips only 0.08mm wide. In the centre of the pavilion stands Strip Tower, an artwork re-imagining the Strip paintings as a freestanding sculpture which Richter designed specifically for the space.

Between the paintings are two floor-to-ceiling Mirrors, part of a body of work Richter began during the 1980s, reflecting both artworks and viewers. Finally, Richter has created a stone sculpture, Brunnen (Well), which stands outside the pavilion.

Speaking about the creative process that led to the pavilion, Richter said: “My trip to Doha in 2013 came two years into developing my Strip paintings, and the city’s architecture and history sparked an idea for a pavilion that could unite the thematic threads of that body of work.

“The pavilion’s exterior features decorative tiles based on the Patterns that first led me to the Strips. Inside, Strip paintings hang alongside Mirrors, and the Strip Tower is installed centrally within.”

Chair of Qatar Museums, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, added: “Qatar’s ambitious programme of public art installations has been developed through our relationships with outstanding figures in contemporary art. It is an extraordinary pleasure now to work with an artist recognised as one of the greatest of his generation, Gerhard Richter, whose unprecedented Doha Pavilion enriches both our public artworks and the international cultural landscape.”

The day after Doha Pavilion is unveiled, Rubaiya Qatar opens to visitors. The country’s new contemporary art quadrennial, running until 30 April 2027, focuses on global ecology and the natural and political significance of water. The headline exhibition, Unruly Waters, will feature more than 50 artists and 25 new commissions and the quadrennial will take place across multiple sites in Doha.