Like Picasso, Matisse, Pollock and a host of iconic 20th century painters, Gerhard Richter developed an instantly recognizable visual vocabulary of photorealistic images obscured to varying degrees in scrapes, blurs, flecks, and pulls of wet and dry paint. Evoking at once powerful movement and misty tranquility, his works require a commitment of effort and time to absorb.
His September (2005) utilizes this technique to stunning effect. Two silvery twin towers, the tops of which disappear into monumental clouds of opaque browns and blacks, stand defiantly against horizontal winds of scrapes and streaks and blurs. The painting captures a moment of enormity with grace and respect and breathtaking radiance.
Both abstract and immediately recognizable, it embraces a world of personal perspectives where the candid observations of press photography meet the chaotic energy of Richter's visual signatures.
An original draft of the painting had bright, colorful flames exploding from the left building, but Richter eventually chose to mute the palette, render the enormity in pale, windy smears and create a more meditative experience for viewers.
The painting is in the New York Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection, where it tells stories and reflects on histories with the giants of contemporary art while occupying the same island ground where its subjects, memories and inspiration once stood.
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