Fence 2015

Gerhard Richter made this painting, Fence, with oils in his signature blurred style. When I look at this painting, I imagine the studio, the smell of the oil paint, and Gerhard with a squeegee in hand, maybe. I like to think about the physicality of dragging paint across the surface, how the texture is smooth and blended, almost disappearing into the canvas. What kind of pressure was applied? Was he thinking about slowing down, or just going fast and trusting his intuition? The fence itself is a blue gray, cool like a cloudy day, and then there’s the dark smudge of trees behind it. I’m thinking of other painters who have explored similar themes of everyday life and the blurry boundaries between abstraction and representation, like Luc Tuymans or maybe even some of the early Impressionists. In the end, it’s all one big conversation, isn’t it? Each artist building on what came before, pushing the boundaries of what painting can be and do, embracing the beauty and uncertainty of the medium.