7.3.86 1986

Richter made 7.3.86 using paint, probably oils, in 1986. There's something so juicy about the colours that Richter uses in this piece, they have this almost childlike quality with the bright reds and yellows and greens, but then he throws in these lines that cut across the composition and give it this tense energy. You can see these diagonal lines working against the overall chaos of colour, like a structure trying to emerge from the muck. And look how thick the paint is in places, especially where the blues and greys meet. It's like he's pushing the paint around, letting it smear and blend, but then also making these decisive marks that disrupt the surface. You might think of de Kooning's work. But where de Kooning's marks seem to be about speed and impulse, Richter's feel more deliberate, considered. He is playing with this idea of control and chance, structure and chaos, which is something he comes back to again and again in his work. And that’s painting for you.