Das Kleine Netim 1959

Gerhard Hoehme made this print, Das Kleine Netim, and it's a total playground of process. The colors are like a muted sunset – oranges and blacks swirling together. It's hard to tell exactly what kind of tools Hoehme used, but you can feel the physicality of the medium. The texture is built up, almost like he was wrestling with the ink. There's a real sense of urgency, of getting something down before it disappears. Look at the way the black lines drip and bleed, creating these weird, almost floral shapes. It’s like a garden, but one that's overgrown and a little bit dangerous. Hoehme reminds me a bit of Wols, another German artist who was all about embracing chance and letting the materials speak for themselves. It’s like they’re both saying, "Art doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be alive." And this print, with all its imperfections and oddities, is definitely full of life.