Gerhard Richter's work encompasses more than 3,000 individual pieces. Over five decades, he has created a stylistically diverse and complex oeuvre that establishes his status as the most significant living artist. On the occasion of the artist's 80th birthday in February 2012, the long-awaited first volume of the catalog raisonné is being published, prepared by Dietmar Elger, head of the Gerhard Richter Archive at the State Art Collections in Dresden, after years of research. The scientific catalog raisonné, planned to consist of five volumes, will be published over the next seven years and will include generous and numerous full-page color reproductions of the works, complete technical information for all pieces, details of the artist's handwritten titles, as well as provenance, literature references, and exhibition records.