Rot-Blau-Gelb 1973

Gerhard Richter made this painting, Rot-Blau-Gelb, with oil, manipulating the paint in a way that’s both controlled and intuitive. There's something about the way the marks are made that speaks to process, to the physical act of painting. Look at the surface, the way the colors blend and blur. It’s a dance between the red, blue, and yellow, creating a kind of visual vibration. See how the lines of color sort of ripple across each other? Notice how they never really resolve into a clear image? It’s like trying to catch a thought as it slips away. This reminds me a lot of Cy Twombly who was working around the same time, even though he was using radically different gestures. Richter's work is like a constant conversation with art history, always questioning, always pushing. These colors don’t so much settle, as flicker. It feels like you’re looking at a painting that’s still becoming.