Kerze II 1989

Gerhard Richter made 'Kerze II' using oil on canvas, and it's like peeking through a rain-streaked window. The blurred candle flame, almost lost in the haze, feels less like a subject and more like an excuse to explore the act of seeing. Richter’s blurring is key here, it isn't a flaw, but a deliberate act, smearing the image into something that feels both present and distant. The surface has this incredible push and pull; smooth in some areas, with thick, almost brutal strokes of black paint surrounding the central image. The black marks at the edges feel almost like they are eating away at the image from the outside. For me, it's like Richter is saying, "Here's a painting, but also here's the process of painting, the struggle to capture something real." You might find this approach in the work of Francis Bacon, someone else who wasn’t afraid to wrestle with the messiness of representation. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about answers; it’s about the questions we ask along the way.