Hans Hofmann

About

The only artist of the New York school to participate directly in European Modernism, Hans Hofmann became known as the major exponent of Abstract Expressionism.  His paintings are known for their manic, exuberant energy.  Among 20th-century masters, he was the first to consolidate and codify the lessons of Modernism into a teaching system.  Hofmann was also a widely influential art instructor with schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts.  Approximately six thousand students studied modernist art with him; among the well-known names are Helen Frankenthaler, Jane Freilicher, Wolf Kahn, Larry Rivers and Nell Blaine.

Hofmann said he always based his paintings on the subject of nature, and he used vivid colors such as bright blues, greens, oranges, and yellows, and applied them with palette knives in long, slashing strokes.  He viewed the surface of the canvas as alive, responsive, and active, often with opposing forces which he created with his theory of “push and pull,”  a concept which is closely tied to theories of Paul Cezanne.  He also experimented with dripping paint onto the canvas, a method Jackson Pollock learned and later made famous.

Exhibitions with Somerville Manning Gallery

2022        American Masters: Art of the 19th – 21st Centuries

2020        American Masters: Art of the 20th – 21st Centuries

2017        American Masters: Art of the 19th – 21st Centuries

2016       American and European Masters: Art of the 19th – 21st Centuries

2015       American and European Masters: Art of the 19th – 20th Centuries

2014       American Masters: Art of the 19th – 21st Centuries

2013       American Masters: Art of the 19th – 21st Centuries

2012       American Masters: Art of the 19th – 21st Centuries

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