Gerhard Richter (b. 1932)

"It began in 1976, with small abstract paintings that allowed me to do what I had never let myself do: put something down at random. And then, of course, I realized that it never can be random. It was all a way of opening a door for me" (Richter, quoted in "Interview with Sabine Schütz", in The Daily Practice of Painting, London 1995, p. 215).