Hans Hofmann was born in Germany in 1880. Having studied art as a
young man, largely in Munich, he became acquainted with the paintings of
the Fauves in 1904 in Paris,
where he knew Matisse. For the next 25 years
he divided his time between his native Germany and Paris.
In 1930, Hofmann was asked to teach at the University of California,
Berkeley, and became so attracted to the United States that he settled
here permanently, becoming a citizen in 1941. After moving to New York,
where he died in 1966, Hofmann spent his summers in Provincetown, Mass.
and ran a famous school for artists there.
Hofmann's work is related to that of
Abstract Expressionism
in its freedom
and exhuberent openness. The colors in his paintings are inevitably
powerful, projecting joyous, sensuous enthusiasm. Although much of his
later accomplishment was characterized by compositions built of square
elements, Hofmann's work until about 1955 was unpredictable and apparently
impulsive. It was, however, always underlayed with a carefully worked out
structure. Undulating Expanse of 1955 is unusual in Hofmann's work
because it is composed in a long horizontal format. The reason is that the
painting is related to a commission for a mural that was never executed.
Two
small studies for this project, similar in composition but more
exaggerated in format, also exist. Undulating Expanse is a painting of great openness, beauty and
complexity. Its horizontal format, its circular and triangular shapes
suggest a relationship to the landscape. The all embracing undulating form
at the top holds the entire composition together and gives it scale. The
paint varies from extremely thin to very thick, but is never less than
exhuberent in the obvious relish with which it is applied. Purplish pink,
bright reds, and brilliant oranges vie with each other for attention.
Against their thinly applied rhythms, heavily impastoed areas of mixed
blue, green and yellow create a singularly joyous dance. Undulating Expanse, which has been called and "oddball
masterpiece," pulsates with vibrant life.
