A B, Tower 1987

Editor: This is Gerhard Richter’s "A B, Tower," created in 1987 using mixed media. The colors—green, red, silver—seem to drip down the canvas. It feels… turbulent. What do you see in this piece? Curator: This work, created in the late 80s, sits within the context of Neo-Expressionism, a movement that valued subjective experience and raw emotion. It's easy to read this piece formally: the layered paint, the visible process. But how do we interpret that expressiveness politically, given that Richter often deliberately obscures meaning? Editor: Politically? I hadn't thought of that. I was just focusing on the brushstrokes, the colors. Curator: Consider the materials, the acrylic, the *application*. Is there a commentary on consumerism or perhaps an exhaustion with grand narratives, reflected in this act of deconstruction on the canvas? Richter created this work during a time when Germany was still grappling with its past, but also looking ahead. Do you think abstraction allows for, or maybe even demands, a certain critical distance from historical events? Editor: Maybe the abstraction allows viewers to project their *own* meanings onto it. Curator: Precisely! And those projections, conditioned by our own cultural moments, reveal more about *us* than perhaps about Richter's specific intent. This constant push and pull between artist, artwork, and viewer – that's where the real dialogue lies. Editor: So it's not just about what Richter was thinking, but also what *we* bring to it. I will definitely look at abstract art with a new perspective. Curator: Art becomes relevant when you realize that the political exists not only within explicit subject matter, but also in its aesthetics and form.