I ran into the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser , a contemporary (1928-2000) Austrian artist, several years ago at a gallery in Boston and was immediately drawn to his work.
It was probably not a surprise as his work focused primarily on color and organic forms with few straight lines and had a strong individualized vocabulary. His work was his work and that spoke to me. Creating something that was my own individual expression was always my highest priority.
I was also interested into his forays into architecture and urban environmentalism, both of which are often reflected in his work. But it was primarily his colors and forms that drew me in. Whenever I come across his work I have to stop and look for a few moments, taking in the whole image at first , letting it register as a single form. Then moving in closer to look at individual elements, seeing how each shape and color plays off the next. It’s the way I hope people look at my own work.
The piece shown here is not one piece but a group of refrigerator magnets massed together but would make an interesting piece. I was also attracted to his use of black in his edges and underneath his work, something that I have somewhat adapted for my own work.
There is a total commitment to vision in his work that I admire. And while I don’t feel raw emotion in the work I do find it compelling.
And that is saying something…
Redtree Times 
What a coincidence! On our recent trip to SF and Napa in May, Anna and I toured the Quixote winery, which was designed by Hundertwasser. It’s a fantastic building, full of organic curves and uneven surfaces, along with color embedded ceramics and a huge onion dome over the owner’s office. Apparently Hundertwasser believed that one needed an onion dome over one’s head to successfully lead anything. You can see the building at:
http://www.quixotewinery.com/hundertwasser.html
I hope you have the chance someday to tour a Hundertwasser structure. It is just as compelling as viewing the paintings; perhaps even more so. Thanks for the post!
That is pretty cool…
these are amazing work of art i know i am only 12 years old but hundertwasser is my idel and i love his work!
they look boring
Oh, well. As they say, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. ..
wow some of these pices of art are amazing and very good detail ! i love them but there are no esay one that could do for my art hw is there i want it easy so i can put more detail in to the colour ! plz help me 😀
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What is the name of that last painting on this page? I have chosen it for my art homework but now need to know the name of it. Please Help? P.S – I like these paintings. 😉
This piece is called The 30 Day Fax Picture. It is made up, from what I can deduct, from 30 small faxes. I can’t find a lot of documentation to verify this but the title is correct. Good luck!
And i was lucky to be in his town and see his paintings ! It was so captivating. I love the fact that he uses strong imagery for his environmental messages. I could only afford 4 post cards but plan to put them together in place to make for a frame !