Hans Hofmann (1880 –1966) was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter. He was born in Weißenburg, Bavaria and emigrated to the U.S. in 1932, where he resided the rest of his life.

My grandparents also emigrated from Bavaria about the same time, perhaps explaining why I feel such an affinity for him. 

Hofmann was renowned as an artist and teacher of art. Also prominent as a writer on modern art, Hofmann authored the influential book, Search for the Real, in which he discussed his push/pull spatial theories, his reverence for nature as a source for art, his conviction that art has spiritual value, and his philosophy of art in general.  Hofmann is especially noteworthy as a theorist of the medium who argued that "each medium of expression has its own order of being," "color is a plastic means of creating intervals," and "the first line placed on the canvas is already the fifth.” 

I fell in love with Hofmann’s paintings during my tenure on the staff of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in the mid-60s.

In this series I try to use color in the way Hofmann taught in his book. The resulting paintings, include three in this series, were given Special Recognition in the 6th annual color: bold/subtle Juried exhibition at the Upstream People Gallery (through 2011).   Double click on the images to enlarge them.