475A Rain of Blood Is Falling Into the Garden 1972

Friedensreich Hundertwasser made this, Rain of Blood Is Falling Into the Garden, and that title makes me want to see all the juicy bits! I am imagining Hundertwasser in the act of painting. He is using a juicy palette of reds, blues and yellows to conjure up what almost looks like a map. Is it a world turned upside down? Or right side up? I think about the way the lines shoot out from the dark blue centre: like a life force, like a beating heart… The thin paint allows for a kind of immediacy – he wasn't afraid to let it bleed and flow, leaving traces of himself in the work. I see Hundertwasser making his mark, echoing the work of Paul Klee or Gustav Klimt, and even looking forward to artists like Chris Ofili. Ultimately, paintings like this remind us that art-making is an ongoing conversation through time, inspiring each other to new heights of creativity.