Jawohl und Gomorrah 2001

Daniel Richter made this painting, Jawohl und Gomorrah, by layering and excavating, building up and scraping back, probably unsure where he was going. There are these figures, or, ghosts of figures, that appear out of a dark palette punctuated by bright reds, yellows, and blues. Richter is like a theatrical director, setting up a stage and inviting the players, or maybe he *is* one of the players, improvising in the scene. The paint is laid on so thickly that it becomes almost sculptural; like impasto icing piled onto a cake. I keep coming back to that figure in the front with the bulbous knees and splotchy white body—is it an image of vulnerability, or one of celebration? There’s a kinship between Richter and other figurative painters who embrace a kind of controlled chaos, like Francis Bacon or even Albert Oehlen, they are all in a constant state of call and response, building on what’s come before. Painting is like that, an exchange of ideas across time, where artists inspire one another's creativity.