Awareness Post - Gerhard Richter #23

Gerhard Richter was born in 1932 in Dresden. This German artist is know for his photo paintings, but also his abstract pieces. Richter's creative process is often marked by a sense of spontaneity and experimentation. He typically starts with a foundation of abstraction, allowing intuition and chance to guide his work. I find myself doing this a lot in my work. The only issue is my intuition in this area needs to be a little bit stronger. For his abstract pieces, he sometimes uses squeegees to scrape or spread paint, layering and reworking surfaces to create unpredictable textures. This method often produces vibrant, dynamic compositions, where the interaction between colors and brushstrokes is central to the visual impact. I most often use a palette knife to achieve this, but I really like this from of creating texture. Richter also explores the balance between control and chaos, allowing his process to be as much about "surrendering to the medium as it is about deliberate intention." I relate to this the most because I want my pieces to be chaotic and messy because that is what I view abstract art as. I need to find that balance between the chaos and the uniform. The technique in the piece above is absolutely brilliant and I wish to achieve this level of layering, color, and balance because this piece exhibits that really well. I want aspects of Richter to come out in my work and I feel that I can use him as an inspiration for future processes.

Links:

https://www.metmuseum.org/primer/gerhard-richter#a-master-of-painting

https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/art/paintings