Northeast Ohio is very fortunate to be hosting an exhibition of paintings by one of the most influential and powerful artists of the twentieth century. Hans Hofmann: Selections from the Berkeley Art Museum Collection opened at the Akron Art Museum on Saturday, September 20, 2003 and presents 25 of Hofmann's magnificent late paintings from UC Berkeley's collection. The exhibit, staged on the museum's spacious and elegant second floor gallery, groups the works by themes, such as music's relationship to painting, that Hofmann explored throughout his career. Akron Art Museum has done a wonderful job hanging the exhibit in the space and provides ample explanatory text to introduce Hofmann's philosophy, artistic concepts and style to those who have not had the pleasure of experiencing this work.

Hans Hofmann was born in Germany in 1880 and went to Paris in 1904 for formal study in art. Before arriving in America in 1930 at the invitation of UC Berkeley, Hofmann was involved with Picasso and Matisse and the European modern art ferment of the time. Once in America Hofmann opened and operated several art schools in California, New York and Massachusetts. These schools influenced a tremendous number of young American artists, such as Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, and Louise Nevelson. Clement Greenberg, the foremost art critic of the Abstract Expressionist and modern art movement in America, regarded Hofmann as a major contributor of the ideas and styles that defined the "new" American painting.

Hofmann retired from teaching in the late 1950's to concentrate on painting. His "push-pull" philosophy of color theory and technique of overlapping warm and cool colors imparts depth and movement to the two dimensional canvas surface. Beyond theory and philosophy his irrepressible spirit and joy of life radiate from the large bright blocks of color and thickly applied swirls of paint he employs. The works in the exhibit, all from this period of Hofmann's career, just seem to burst from their surfaces and sweep you up in the artist's excitement.

Among Hofmann's students were the parents of the actor Robert De Niro?; they met while attending Hofmann's Provincetown school. A documentary, Hans Hofmann Artist/Teacher, Teacher/Artist, narrated by De Niro? is available at the museum's gift shop (VHS only, rats). A beautiful companion book is also available highlighting a number of the works in the exhibit plus other late works. The exhibit runs through January 3, 2004.

Northeast Ohio rarely has such an opportunity to see the works of important modern artists. Please take advantage of this opportunity to do so and to support Akron Art Museum and arts in Northeast Ohio in general. Congratulations to Akron Art Museum for bringing this exhibit to the area, and to their excellent treatment of the works, information provided, and a great opening reception. From Cool Cleveland reader Jeff Payne jrpayne_ym@yahoo.com

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