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Lot Essay
This work will be included in the forthcoming Hans Hofmann Catalogue Raisonné, sponsored by the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust.
Painted a year after Hans Hofmann represented the United States in the Venice Biennale, Delirious Pink, 1961, embodies many of the most important principles of the artist's work. Generously painted expressionistic brushstrokes hover against a white background; the neutral ground allowing the chosen jewel tones, from various shades of pink and magenta to green and yellow, to appear in their most natural state.
Color was at the core of Hofmann's artistic practice. "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" (H. Hofmann, "Texts by Hans Hofmann: 1951-1963", Hans Hofmann, New York, 1997, p. 99). Hofmann's penchant for colors may have originated in his development as an artist in Europe at the turn of the century. Arriving in America in the 1930s, Hofmann brought his knowledge of European Modernism, artists such as Piet Mondrian and Robert Delauney to young artists who had not seen it before. In works such as Delirious Pink the influence of the fauvist color palette is apparent and a subtle undertone of cubist organization reigns.
In Delirious Pink the dazzling fields of color are applied to the canvas in exuberant brush strokes; the magenta tones march confidently across the upper half of the canvas in vertical motion, while the underlying soft pink shape subtly drifts down the left edge. The conversation between the colors continues with the green and yellow which firmly occupies the lower right quadrant, resting on the lower edge. All set against a white background, the viewer is left with no choice but to contemplate the tones in their purist form. With its independently floating, yet subtly overlapping slabs of color, Delirious Pink embodies this prolific abstract expressionist painter's iconic mastery of color.
Painted a year after Hans Hofmann represented the United States in the Venice Biennale, Delirious Pink, 1961, embodies many of the most important principles of the artist's work. Generously painted expressionistic brushstrokes hover against a white background; the neutral ground allowing the chosen jewel tones, from various shades of pink and magenta to green and yellow, to appear in their most natural state.
Color was at the core of Hofmann's artistic practice. "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" (H. Hofmann, "Texts by Hans Hofmann: 1951-1963", Hans Hofmann, New York, 1997, p. 99). Hofmann's penchant for colors may have originated in his development as an artist in Europe at the turn of the century. Arriving in America in the 1930s, Hofmann brought his knowledge of European Modernism, artists such as Piet Mondrian and Robert Delauney to young artists who had not seen it before. In works such as Delirious Pink the influence of the fauvist color palette is apparent and a subtle undertone of cubist organization reigns.
In Delirious Pink the dazzling fields of color are applied to the canvas in exuberant brush strokes; the magenta tones march confidently across the upper half of the canvas in vertical motion, while the underlying soft pink shape subtly drifts down the left edge. The conversation between the colors continues with the green and yellow which firmly occupies the lower right quadrant, resting on the lower edge. All set against a white background, the viewer is left with no choice but to contemplate the tones in their purist form. With its independently floating, yet subtly overlapping slabs of color, Delirious Pink embodies this prolific abstract expressionist painter's iconic mastery of color.