748 One of Five Seamen 1975

Friedensreich Hundertwasser made this print, One of Five Seamen, using a complex palette of browns, oranges and greens. Hundertwasser’s mark-making feels so instinctive. It’s art at its most playful, a dance of colour and shape where the rules are joyfully bent. Look at the face of the seaman, a landscape dotted with windows for eyes and quirky geometric patterns for skin. The thick black line cutting through the centre asserts the presence of the medium, yet it also serves as a dividing line between different emotional registers. There’s a push and pull between surface and depth, pattern and form. Hundertwasser reminds me of Paul Klee, another artist who wasn’t afraid to let his imagination run wild. But where Klee's work can be delicate, Hundertwasser's is bold and brash. He challenges us to reconsider what we think art should be. His art celebrates the messy, the imperfect, and the downright joyful.