Hundertwasser

"His trump card is his art, the creator of beauty: of natural harmony, peace and joy. The extra-lucid power of his analytical sensitivity makes him the perfect decoder of global culture and its guided information. He reveals the prodigious quality resources of naturist empiricism against the abusive uniformity of rationalist totalitarianism, against the tyranny of ugliness and the iron rule of its straight line." Excerpt from: Pierre Restany, Hundertwasser, The Power of Art - The Painter-King with the five skins, Cologne, 1998, p. 94 Viennese-native Friedrich Stowasser (1928-2000) called himself Hundertwasser Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt. True to the colorful variety of his names, he pursued many activities as a painter, architect and ecologist, and as "one who awakens identities." This presentation of Hundertwasser's work in all of its different facets is guided by the artist's own view of himself and his purpose. And, because his work is virtually inseparable from his personal life and political activity, a vivid portrait of the artist takes shape before the reader's eyes. Excerpts from conversations between the author and the artist lend a sense of immediacy and authenticity to the narration.