Sindbad 2008

Editor: So, here we have Gerhard Richter's "Sindbad" from 2008, an acrylic painting on canvas. It's quite striking – the colours are so vibrant, almost violently clashing. What do you see in this piece? Curator: What immediately grabs me is the tension between the supposed chaos of Abstract Expressionism and the structured process Richter employs. Knowing that he often uses squeegees to manipulate paint across the canvas, it prompts a critical questioning of authorship. Is this "expression" truly spontaneous, or is it performative, even controlled? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't thought about the control aspect given its seemingly random nature. Curator: Exactly. And let’s think about the title, “Sindbad.” Referencing the adventurous, navigating the unknown. Perhaps Richter is suggesting that he, too, is embarking on a journey without a clear destination, but that journey, like Sindbad’s, is shaped by socio-political and historical forces he can’t fully escape. What do these colours signify? Does the lower register symbolize something other than the upper? Does Sindbad's "Orient" exist here? Editor: It makes you consider that abstract art isn't detached from the real world; it's reacting to it in its own way. The painting becomes almost like a map itself. Curator: Precisely! Richter lived through the World War, studied social realism in the GDR, later embraced the Capitalist West; this informs everything he did. Even perceived abstraction embodies lived experience and the artist's reaction to such life conditions. Don't you think? Editor: I do! Thanks, I hadn't thought of it in those terms before. Curator: And thanks for thinking with me. Now, when you approach other pieces, consider the power structures and biases shaping what we see and how we interpret.