George Hofman – Notes to Henri

_{A few thoughts about painting for a new year.}

George Hofmann wrote a few lines to me about his understanding of the state of the art world at this moment. I do think that George’s notes below touch on ideas that many artists and critics have been discussing of late – see Dean Kissick and the many responses to his polemic “The Painted Protest. George has always been about the work.

I think this moment in art is interesting in that on the one hand, in the popular market, we have an endless rehashing of all that has come before. Most of it insincere. Then there is the Uber-Kitsch – often astonishing. Sculpture has lost its meaning – no one can comprehend space that is not vast, or anything of Substance …

In the market, the money rules completely; in the museums it seems the trustees – and in turn the gallerists – are buying the curators. This reflects the times I think – a friend wrote that Tacitus said of his time – the time of the Emperors – “everything is for sale”.

At the same time, in actual art, there are these other developments – with the artists themselves: in the largest sense, a search – for honesty, for the unseen, for the not settling for less.

This brings to mind the Middle Ages – always seen as a lessening, a loss – of talent and ability – a withdrawal. While it was some of these things, it was also deliberate, a search for honesty too: after all, what was the art of the time just before? Roman copies of Greek sculpture and painting. With one High: portrait busts. (We thankfully have realized what the East brought to Western art – a great, great deal.)

But I think the current situation drives the artist underground – I don’t think the great artists have deserted the ship (altho who they might be is a good question) – but where is stuff happening? Up and down the Hudson Valley. In Brooklyn. In the remotest hinterlands …

Personally, I find myself seeking out the emblematic, the sign, the gesture that is universal. A signal, if you will …

I wish so much that it were different, that we would be sailing along, happy on the seas of acceptance and thoughtful appreciation. BUT – maybe this is better …
_{George Hofmann – January 5, 2025}

George has been an inspiration to many of us. His essay about Fractured Space in 2010 and the paintings that followed have created many hot discussions among abstract painters. Follow the links to see more of his work.