Qatar Museums Announces New Permanent Artwork For MIA Park By Gerhard Richter

Doha, Qatar: At a special event held yesterday at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, announced the creation of Doha Pavilion: Gerhard Richter, a new permanent, site-specific structure conceived by the world-renowned artist. Doha Pavilion has been designed by Gerhard Richter as a free-standing work of art and architecture housing a distinct body of his paintings and sculpture.

Selldorf Architects worked with the artist to realise his vision for the project, which will be located in Doha's MIA Park. Doha Pavilion will be unveiled on November 20, 2026 on the eve of the opening of Rubaiya Qatar, the nation's new contemporary art quadrennial.

She made the announcement as part of a roundtable discussion with Principal of Selldorf Architects, Annabelle Selldorf and Advisor, Public Art, for Qatar Museums and Co-Curator of Rubaiya Qatar, Tom Eccles.

Sheikha Al Mayassa also spoke at a public presentation at the Neue Nationalgalerie yesterday, appearing in a conversation with the Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson on the topic of 'Art, Patronage and Cultural Stewardship.' She discussed with the artist his long relationship with Qatar Museums, which has included creation of the permanent site-specific installation Shadows Traveling on the Sea of the Day and the major exhibition The Curious Desert at the National Museum of Qatar.

Sheikha Al Mayassa said,“Qatar's ambitious programme of public art installations continues to grow from our belief that art is part of everyday life, a source of knowledge and dialogue, and that its presence in public space allows everyone to engage with new ideas and experiences. Our longstanding relationships with outstanding figures in contemporary art have helped us build a programme that brings together creativity, research and knowledge, making culture an open space for exchange and learning.”

She further stated,“It is an extraordinary pleasure to add to this journey our collaboration with Gerhard Richter through his exceptional Doha Pavilion, which holds particular significance for us as part of the continuing legacy of the Qatar–Germany 2017 Year of Culture. It demonstrates the ability of the Years of Culture initiative to build lasting relationships and partnerships whose impact extends far beyond the year of celebration. Doha Pavilion will be an important addition to Qatar's cultural landscape, offering a new space for reflection and engagement with the work of one of the greatest artists of his generation.”

“It is also a great pleasure to rejoin Olafur Eliasson, a close friend of Qatar Museums, to share with an audience in Berlin some of what has emerged from our longstanding collaboration. I am grateful to Klaus Biesenbach, Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, for graciously hosting these events,” Sheikha Al Mayassa added.

Gerhard 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. Doha is the right place and the only place for my Pavilion.”

With a career spanning from the 1960s to the present, Gerhard Richter has pursued a diverse and influential practice that has explored and expanded the formal and conceptual possibilities of art and the ways in which we relate to images. His vast body of work, which includes paintings, objects, installations, works on paper, editions, and photographic documentation, is grounded in deeply nuanced investigations of history, memory, and perception.

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