Bunte Stadt c. 1923

Karl Wiener made this drawing, "Bunte Stadt", probably with colored pencils and ink, and it looks like the process was all about building up layers. The marks are so clear, you can practically see him going over the lines again and again, figuring it out as he goes. I love how the colors, like these cheerful pinks and blues, are trapped inside the black outlines, which gives it this amazing graphic quality. It's like a kid's coloring book, but with this kind of underlying seriousness. Look at the yellow building. The windows aren't just filled in; there's a real sense of depth and texture, as if each one is a little world in itself. This reminds me a bit of Paul Klee, that same playful, almost naive approach to form and color. But Wiener’s got his own thing going on, a unique way of seeing the world and turning it into something both familiar and totally strange.