Hans Hofmann 1880-1966
Biography
Photo of Hans Hofmann
"I always want to live in color"
- Hans Hofmann
As one of the most important figures of post-war American art, Hans Hofmann defies easy categorization. He was celebrated for his exuberant and color-filled paintings, yet his most enduring work came at the end of his career. A renowned and influential teacher for generations of artists, he is best known for his pivotal role in the development of Abstract Expressionism.
Before moving to the United States permanently in 1932, Hofmann's early development as an artist and teacher took him to Paris and Munich at crucial moments in the development of modern art. He knew many of the foremost artists, critics and dealers of the twentieth century: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Wassily Kandinsky, Sonia and Robert Delaunay, Peggy Guggenheim, Jackson Pollack, and many others, including Arthur B. Carles.
Hofmann was a gallant experimentor, constantly evolving as an artist, thinking and rethinking his style and intentions. A lot happens in his paintings. They are riots of color and form. He once said: "I always want to live in color." He valued the process of painting in some ways more than the end result. You can see that here in Abstraction, with its vibrant color and thick slabs of paint. The immediacy of the brushwork gives the composition a raw energy, much like the work of the Abstract Expressionists, for whom Hofmann was essential.
Hofmann's love of color was matched by Carles's. The two men met in Philadelphia in 1932-33 through Carles's daughter, Mercedes, who was a student and lover of Hofmann. Carles was struggling at the time, as only a few of his colleagues understood the direction his art was taking. Mercedes recalled her father being "so hungry to talk to someone who understood what he was doing," and he found his meeting with Hofmann exhilarating. Hofmann shared Carles's excitement in having found someone to communicate deeply about painting. They spoke the same language, according to Carles. And their great love of color was matched in their shared belief that paintings were dynamic organisms. Their deep friendship propelled both men into extremely creative and innovative periods in both of their careers. For Hofmann, the power of Carles's paintings reverberated in his late work long after Carles passed.
Before moving to the United States permanently in 1932, Hofmann's early development as an artist and teacher took him to Paris and Munich at crucial moments in the development of modern art. He knew many of the foremost artists, critics and dealers of the twentieth century: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Wassily Kandinsky, Sonia and Robert Delaunay, Peggy Guggenheim, Jackson Pollack, and many others, including Arthur B. Carles.
Hofmann was a gallant experimentor, constantly evolving as an artist, thinking and rethinking his style and intentions. A lot happens in his paintings. They are riots of color and form. He once said: "I always want to live in color." He valued the process of painting in some ways more than the end result. You can see that here in Abstraction, with its vibrant color and thick slabs of paint. The immediacy of the brushwork gives the composition a raw energy, much like the work of the Abstract Expressionists, for whom Hofmann was essential.
Hofmann's love of color was matched by Carles's. The two men met in Philadelphia in 1932-33 through Carles's daughter, Mercedes, who was a student and lover of Hofmann. Carles was struggling at the time, as only a few of his colleagues understood the direction his art was taking. Mercedes recalled her father being "so hungry to talk to someone who understood what he was doing," and he found his meeting with Hofmann exhilarating. Hofmann shared Carles's excitement in having found someone to communicate deeply about painting. They spoke the same language, according to Carles. And their great love of color was matched in their shared belief that paintings were dynamic organisms. Their deep friendship propelled both men into extremely creative and innovative periods in both of their careers. For Hofmann, the power of Carles's paintings reverberated in his late work long after Carles passed.
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