Gerhard Richter at the Tate

Had a quick visit to Gerhard Richter's Panorama retrospective at the Tate. A questing body of work, each room fresh and intriguing, near the end a small collection of personal photographs partly painted over - the blurb suggests both violence and caress - maybe - but also an encouragement. I'll be back.

“One has to believe in what one is doing, one has to commit oneself inwardly, in order to do painting. Once obsessed, one ultimately carries it to the point of believing that one might change human beings through painting. But if one lacks this passionate commitment, there is nothing left to do. Then it is best to leave it alone. For basically painting is idiocy.” (From Richter, 'Notes 1973', in The Daily Practice of Painting, p. 78.)