German painter Gerhard Richter, 93, remains the most important artist worldwide in a ranking by Germany's Kunstkompass (Art Compass) ranking, with the Cologne-based painter having held the top position unchallenged for 22 years now.
"The idea that any artist will overtake Gerhard Richter at the top of the Kunstkompass ranking seems unimaginable at present," said journalist Linde Rohr-Bongard, who compiles the ranking.
The Kunstkompass ranking is published in the magazine Capital. To compile it, exhibitions from more than 300 museums are evaluated and weighted with points, as well as reviews in specialist magazines, acquisitions by leading museums and awards. Sales prices and auction proceeds are not considered.
The positions beyond Richter were also unchanged. In second place is US performer and video artist Bruce Nauman, followed by the two Germans Georg Baselitz and Rosemarie Trockel.
In fifth place is the British sculptor Tony Cragg, who lives in the German city of Wuppertal, followed by the US artist and photographer Cindy Sherman in sixth place.
The list of "stars of tomorrow" - artists outside the top 100 who have had the greatest increase in points - is led this year by the 96-year-old Yayoi Kusama from Japan, US artist Tschabalala Self and the Swiss artist Julian Charrière, who lives in Berlin.
In the extra ranking of deceased artists, Joseph Beuys (1921-86) remains in first place, followed by Pop Art star Andy Warhol (1928-87) and the Cologne painter Sigmar Polke (1941-2010).
The "nail artist" Günther Uecker, who passed away this year, is in ninth place.- dpa
