Post War and Contemporary Art

Provenance:

Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York

Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1998

Lot Essay:

Much of Gerhard Richter’s career is distilled in this intimate square painting from 1996.  Its sonorous, deep almost monochromatic maroon color suggests the gentle tidal movement of the sea in early evening. The picture conveys a sense of motion and depth under its surface.

Inspired initially by his very early work in a photo lab in East Germany and then refined over years by his process on painting in multiple layers, Richter learned to evoke this sense of quasi photographic but painterly movement.  In this work he used the blunt end of a paint brush to incise what reads like a horizon line, and the modulated surface in the top register appears like an overcast sky, just moments before night falls.  Thus, the painting can be read not only as an abstraction, but also as a romantic seascape.  It is this sense of existing in the realm between abstraction and realism that characterizes much of the artist’s best work.  One can also add that the square format of this painting is a shape that Richter gravitated towards, it is repeatedly utilized in his paintings and drawings and even can be seen in the design of his house in Cologne. Like the satisfying square, this work is perfectly balanced and even. The only movement is suggested by the paint on its surface.