GERHARD RICHTER (B. 1932)

‘For Richter, the squeegee is the most important implement for integrating coincidence into his art. For years, he used it sparingly, but he came to appreciate how the structure of paint applied with a squeegee can never be completely controlled. It thus introduces a moment of surprise that often enables him to extricate himself from a creative dead-end, destroying a prior, unsatisfactory effort and opening the door to a fresh start.’ (D. Elger, Gerhard Richter: A Life in Painting, Chicago 2009, p. 251).

With its palimpsest of prismatic pigment swept across the canvas in vivid kaleidoscopic striations, Grün-Blau-Rot is a vibrant example of Gerhard Richter’s abstract work. Infinite shades of indigo and emerald green are shrouded by a swathe of fiery red, intermingling and colliding to form a hypnotic panorama of shimmering chromatic strata. Painstakingly layering blue and red over a base of vibrant green paint, Richter enables the pigments to fracture and blend as they are spread over each preceding layer. Applying the paint directly from the tube along the border of his canvas, Richter pulls his pigments across the surface of the work with a squeegee—his signature tool since the 1980s. This instantaneous act of the push and pull of chromatic streaks embody the encounter between chance effect and careful orchestration that lies at the heart of Richter’s practice. The artist himself delights in the automatism of the squeegee, claiming ‘It is a good technique for switching off thinking. Consciously, I can’t calculate the result. But subconsciously, I can sense it. This is a nice “between” state’ (G. Richter, quoted in S. Koldehoff, ‘Gerhard Richter, Die Macht der Malerei’, in Art. Das Kunstmagazin, December 1999, p. 20).

This painting stems from a series of works created for the publishing company Parkett, renowned for their artist editions uniquely constructed in direct collaboration with the artist. With approximately 250 art works and 100 books, Parkett’s operation has additionally expanded to include a small museum and library for contemporary arts. Richter’s edition Parkett vol. 35 (1993) is a seminal volume that stands amongst the most celebrated works the company has ever produced.