Einstein und noch ein Stein 2002

Siegfried Zademack painted "Einstein und noch ein Stein" with what looks like very thin, glazed layers of oil paint, giving it this misty, almost photographic feel. It's like he's trying to capture not just a scene, but a memory, or a dream. I'm drawn to the way the figure of Einstein seems both present and dissolving into the landscape. Zademack's use of color, mostly earth tones and grays, gives a feeling of melancholy and contemplation. Look at the way the light catches the stone in the foreground. It's so tactile, you can almost feel the weight and coolness of it. This piece reminds me a bit of Gerhard Richter’s blurred portraits, in that way they both embrace ambiguity, suggesting that meaning isn't something fixed, but something that shifts and changes.