Fuji 3 1996

This is Gerhard Richter’s Fuji 3, and what strikes me is how much the action of making is right there on the surface. The way he’s dragged and smeared the paint reminds me that painting isn’t just about representation, it’s about doing something with the stuff itself. Look at the top edge, where that dark green bleeds into the white. It’s like a storm rolling in, but instead of being scary, it’s kind of beautiful. And those little spots of red and yellow, scattered like confetti – they feel almost accidental, but they add so much energy to the whole thing. You can almost see Richter standing there, deciding where to make each mark, each pull, letting the paint do its thing. Richter’s known for blurring the lines between abstraction and representation, kind of like what Sigmar Polke was doing, too. Both of them embrace uncertainty. This piece revels in the beauty of not quite knowing what you’re looking at.