Gerhard Richter at David Zwirner Gallery

Though they were finished over five years ago, 91 year old German artist Gerhard Richter’s ‘final paintings’ from 2016-17 at David Zwirner Gallery feel current; together with smaller-scale work on paper, the paintings have been a ‘must-see’ since opening in mid-March.  Richter’s muscular painting process involved scraping layers of paint from the surface of his paintings with a large self-designed squeegee.  Never sure of what his technique would yield, Richter surrendered at least part of a painting’s outcome to chance; the resulting images embody movement, resisting the static quality of a finished piece. (On view in Chelsea through April 29th).

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting), oil on canvas, 78 ¾ x 98 3/8 inches, 2016.

Gerhard Richter at Gagosian Gallery

Six towering oil on canvas abstractions by Gerhard Richter, currently on view at Gagosian Gallery, are a second chance to take in a highlight of the Met’s short-lived Richter retrospective last spring.  Collectively titled ‘Cage Paintings,’ they pay homage to composer John Cage, whose chance-based music Richter listened to as he created the series in 2006.  Made by pulling a squeegee across painted canvas, the paintings juxtapose the artist’s carefully developed technique with the inevitable unforeseen results of his painting method.  (On view in Chelsea through June 26th).

Gerhard Richter, installation view of ‘Cage Paintings’ at Gagosian Gallery, April 2021

Gerhard Richter at FLAG Art Foundation

To create the Rorschach-like image on this tapestry, German painter Gerhard Richter quartered and flipped a section from a 1990 abstract painting. At around nine feet tall and twelve feet wide, the complexity of its large surface boggles and its presence is both powerful and yet more ephemeral than the artist’s paintings. (At FLAG Art Foundation in Chelsea through May 13th).

Gerhard Richter, YUSUF, jacquard woven tapestry, 108 11/16 x 148 13/16 inches, 2009.