A pioneering artist and teacher, Hans Hofmann is one of the most important figures of postwar American art. Celebrated for his exuberant, color-filled canvases, and renowned as an influential teacher for generations of artists-first in his native Germany, then in New York and Provincetown-Hofmann played a pivotal role in the development of Abstract Expressionism. The list of those who studied with Hofmann is long - numbering to mention only a few are Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Georgio Cavallon, Carl Holty, Nicolas Carone, Joan Mitchell, Michael Goldberg, John Grillo, Larry Rivers, Lynn Mapp Drexler, Louisa Matthiasdottir, Robert Goodnough, Wolf Kahn, Stephen Pace, Louise Nevelson, Frank Stella, and Mercedes Matter. Hofmann's works are distinguished by a concern with pictorial structure, spatial illusion, and color relations. His main interest with pictorial phenomena- the illusion of three-dimensional space, composition, and the optical effects of color- best describes his works. He once famously explained:
"It is not the form that dictates color, but the color that brings out the form."
Andre Emmerich Gallery, Inc., New York
Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles
James Goodman Gallery, New York
Private Collection, Los Angeles
Rago Auction, 2021