Internationally-known German painter Gerhard Richter will accept the sixth Wexner Prize Thursday at the Wexner Center for the Arts.”Gerhard Richter personifies the spirit of ceaseless creative exploration and artistic mastery for which the Wexner Prize was created,” said Sherri Geldin, Wexner Center director.”His stunning ability to combine multiple modes of expression through the intriguing convergence of painting and photography both challenges and refines the way we see the world,” she said.Donna DeSalvo, Wexner Center curator-at-large, said Richter’s work raises questions about the definition of contemporary painting, as well as its relationship to photography and place within culture.Richter’s pieces can be placed in three categories: figurative, abstract and constructive works, she said. Figurative pieces include portraits, landscapes and still lifes, and the idea of abstract works are self-explanatory.Constructive works use existing forms like color charts, mirrors and monochrome paintings to look at what constitutes the basics of a finished painting, DeSalvo said.The Wexner Center created an exhibition of Richter’s work to make the community more familiar with it, she said. A total of 16 pieces borrowed from private and public collections are presented to give a sense of the breadth of his work.The exhibition runs through April 12.”We asked Richter’s help with that, and he identified a list of works in the United States that represented the three distinct bodies of works that he makes,” DeSalvo said.Richter also furnished a 14-minute film that he made in 1966, titled “Volker Bradke.” The film is little known even among Richter scholars and runs continuously in the exhibition, she said.”It’s another way of looking at how Richter investigates what it is that he’s seeing,” DeSalvo said.She said his program is very complex and large. Some of the works in the exhibition are more than 30 years old.”He’s making a statement that is very contemporary and very meaningful, and many people feel he is doing some of the most interesting work being done in painting,” DeSalvo said.The Wexner Prize consists of a sculpture by Jim Dine and a $50,000 award. Previous recipients include directors Martin Scorsese and Peter Brook, said Darnell Lautt, coordinator of public relations for the Wexner Center.Lautt said Richter will arrive in Columbus from Cologne, Germany today and will spend some time this afternoon at a studio visit with upper-level OSU art students.Presentation ceremonies will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will be followed by a public reception in the lower lobby of the Wexner Center at 2:30 p.m., Lautt said. A panel discussion will take place at 3:30 p.m. titled “Gerhard Richter and the Contemporary Situation of Painting.” The discussion is free, but tickets are required due to limited seating.