Gerhard Richter - Abstract Painting (809-3)

Richter used a large squeegee to drag and scrape layers of thick oil paint across the canvas. This technique creates complex, randomized textures and color fields that cannot be perfectly replicated.

Gerhard Richter created the 809 series of abstract paintings in the mid-1990s. These works are celebrated as some of the most important contemporary abstract art of the late 20th century.

The famous 809 series paintings were notably owned by the British musician Eric Clapton. Clapton famously sold his Richter abstract paintings at a Sotheby's auction in 2012 for massive sums.

Abstract Painting (809-3) is an oil-on-canvas artwork. Richter deliberately chose oil paint for its slow drying time, allowing him to manipulate and blur the pigment extensively before it sets.