Hans Hofmann (1880-1966)

“Like the picture surface, color has an inherent life of its own. A picture comes into existence on the basis of the interplay of this dual life. In the act of predominance and assimilation, colors love or hate each other, thereby helping to make the creative intention of the artist possible” – Hans Hofmann

Painted in 1944, and reverberating with color and energy, Hans Hofmann's Summer Glory is an early example of the innovative technique that would ensure the artist's place as one of the most inventive painters of the twentieth century. Here, the artist assembles passages of vivid color to produce a surface that is rich in both visual and textural details. By cautiously laying down areas of contrasting colors, Hofmann not only produces an intricately patterned surface but also in the process becomes one of the pre-eminent exponents of mid-century passion for expressing the materiality of paint itself. Thus, by showcasing the thickness of the pigment and the flatness of the canvas, Hofmann helped to declare this medium as autonomous, setting it apart from other marks of artistic expression. Thus, Summer Glory is a primary example of Hofmann’s revolutionary painting practice, displaying the nascent ideas and technical and aesthetic breakthroughs that the artist pioneered, and displaying the beginnings of the seismic shifts in art that occurred during this dynamic period of discovery.