Fuji 7 1996

Gerhard Richter’s Fuji 7 looks like it came into being through the application and removal of paint, a building up and scraping away using large gestures of the hand. I bet that when Richter was making this, he was thinking about how to create a sense of depth through layering and how color could evoke mood. The turquoise at the bottom feels like a deep, still body of water, reflecting a hazy sky above. The surface is smooth and slick, almost like glass. The colors blend and blur, creating a sense of movement and change. That one deliberate splattering of red paint really draws the eye. I wonder if Richter knew Cy Twombly's work and was thinking about him when he made this? Ultimately, painting is about conversations, with other painters and with oneself. Each stroke, each layer, is a response to what came before, an attempt to push the boundaries of what paint can do. Richter’s painting, in its embrace of ambiguity, invites us to engage in this conversation, to bring our own experiences and perspectives to the act of seeing.