Gerhard Richter

Who is your favorite artist?

Not too long ago we had this conversation with some friends and one of them mentioned Gerhard Richter.

I would not have said it first, but it’s hard to disagree with.

Richter is an artist’s artist and as a 90-year-old, he has produced a lot to like (or not) throughout his career.

I especially like his photorealistic paintings and can remember each time and place that I saw one.

I saw Reader in the SFMOMA.

I saw Barn at the AGO Toronto (pictured above).

I saw Betty at Naoshima.

In a gallery with other paintings, these images just jump off the wall.

I wondered about this and think I have an explanation, which has to do with the signature blur he applied.

These paintings are large format and as the name implies, very realistic.

Yet, they appear just a smidge out of focus.

Richter achieved this effect by wiping the surface of the painting while it was still wet with a wide flat object (a squeegee, a folded towel, a wide brush) to soften the edges.

This light blur evokes the passage of time or something metaphoric, as Richter himself mused “my relationship to reality has a great deal to do with imprecision, uncertainty, transience, incompleteness."

Richter also suggested that the technique (slightly) increases effort the viewer must make to focus on the image.

So people pay more attention when the information is dampened a little? Like listening more closely to someone who speaks quietly?

Hmmm.

It works!