In recent years, Gerhard Richter has redirected his focus from painting and photography to the theme of freestanding three-dimensional constructions of glass. A central idea of Western painting is the notion of a painting as either a window offering a view on to a world beyond or a mirror reflecting whatever is held before it. These two themes emerge both metaphorically and visually in this work, which consists of eleven panes of glass. Reflecting both the gallery space and the spectator, 11-Scheiben (886-3) is poised between architecture and painting.