Category Karl Wiener

A Complete Analysis of “Alone” by Karl Wiener

Collage and gouache depicting a fragmented black-and-white fashion figure—hand to mouth, ruffled sleeves, flowing skirt—set against a vivid magenta background, outlined in pencil, with registration ticks at the margins.

Karl Wiener’s 1939 collage Alone blends fashion-photography fragments with a raw magenta wash and incisive outlines to evoke profound isolation on the brink of World War II. Through strategic fragmentation, bold color, and unsettling juxtapositions, Wiener critiques the seductive veneer of glamour and probes the fractured psyche of his time.

A Complete Analysis of “Adagio” by Karl Wiener

Abstract watercolor and gouache with sweeping arcs of purple, turquoise, orange‑red, and golden‑yellow against a soft pastel wash background, punctuated by three vertical crimson shapes suggesting sustained musical notes.

Karl Wiener’s 1928 Adagio transforms the measured grace of a slow musical movement into a flowing tapestry of watercolor and gouache. Gentle arcs of purple, turquoise, and gold ascend like sustained notes, while vertical crimson forms echo solemn pedal points, resulting in an abstract composition of profound lyricism.