Untitled (Mountain Range) 1967

Curator: Here we have Gerhard Richter's "Untitled (Mountain Range)," a pencil drawing on paper from 1967. Editor: The starkness of the pencil on paper gives it an unsettling mood, almost like a dreamscape fading at the edges of perception. Curator: Indeed, given Richter's engagement with post-war German identity, consider how the mountain range might symbolize a longing for stability amidst societal fragmentation, or perhaps a critique of romanticized nationalism. Editor: Interesting. I see it more as an exercise in pure form. The hatching creates volume, yet flattens the pictorial space, playing with our understanding of depth and perspective. Curator: I can see that, but I also wonder about the labor it takes to craft this piece. Perhaps it evokes the countless untold stories of those displaced by geopolitical conflicts. Editor: Ultimately, I appreciate how the work resides in the tension between representation and abstraction, line and volume. Curator: And for me, it is a potent reminder of the personal and collective histories etched into the landscape.