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Artist or Maker: Hans Hofmann (1880-1966)
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Exhibited: New York, Kootz Galllery,
New Paintings by Hans Hofmann
, January 1958, no. 23.
Toronto, David Mirvish,
Hans Hofmann: Major Paintings 1957-1965
, October-November 1974 (illustrated in color on brochure).
Washington, D.C., Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,
Hans Hofmann
, October 1976-January 1977, p. 75, no. 33 (illustrated).
London, The Tate Gallery,
Hans Hofmann: The Late Paintings
, March-May 1988, p. 31, no. 6 (illustrated in color).
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Notes: "After a lifelong struggle Cézanne made the following aesthetical statement: 'All lies in the contrast.'"
-Hans Hofmann
The universe, according to Hans Hofmann, is centered on the laws and principles that balance the opposing dualities and dialectics which pervade nature and humanity. In Early Dawn, Hofmann translates this view of cosmology onto a vivacious canvas, seamlessly reconciling a multitude of aesthetic tensions to create a dynamic painting of remarkable visual power and complexity. In Early Dawn, we watch as Hofmann delights in the interplay of calculated geometry and uninhibited spontaneity, luscious applications of ebullient colors and washes of earthy tones. Classically poised rectangular forms traverse the horizontal plane of the canvas, as gently swooping brush strokes lyrically disrupt the strict linearity of work. Early Dawn seethes with an energy that forebodes his entrance into a late renaissance upon the closing of his school. Hofmann draws upon his rich cultural background and variety of early influences, and fuses them with a re-ignited creative energy to create a lyrical work which appears at once pulled together and yet ripped apart.
In Early Dawn, Hofmann's use of scintillating color bears the legacy of the Fauvist penchant for vibrant, irrational, and at times, acidic hues. This study of the expressive capability of color takes a cue from the intense color palette of Matisse and Delaunay. Indeed, Delaunay's thoughts on color theory resonate closely with Hofmann's work. Much like Delaunay, Hofmann would allow his inner feelings to collide with his visceral responses to nature. Delaunay wrote, "Nature is permeated by rhythms whose variety cannot be restricted. Art imitates it in this respect, in order to clarify itself and thereby attain the same degree of sublimity, raising itself to a state of multiple harmony, a harmony of colors that are divided at one moment and resorted to wholeness by the selfsame action at the next. This synchromic action is to be regarded as the real and only subject of painting" (Robert Delaunay quoted in H. Friedel, ed., Hans Hofmann, Munich, 1997, p. 8). The interplay of unruly color in Early Dawn similarly injects a dynamic rhythm to the work. This pairing of dissonant colors creates a harmonious musicality which resonates from the work, recalling the chromatic lyricism of Kandinsky's abstract compositions.
Subtle flashes of lavender, foreboding areas of brown, streaks of luminescent white, unmodulated planes of shimmering yellow, regal swipes of blue simultaneously emerge from and dissipate into the horizontal plane. This wide variety of color is applied with equally varied brush stokes and textures. Abrupt dabs of paint interrupt series of square and rectangular geometric forms, recalling the work of Mondrian. Like waves crashing into the sand, thick, luscious applications of paint achieve a low relief, causing them to physically as well as pictorially emerge from the ground, demonstrating Hofmann's regard of painting as both a formal and expressive arena.
