Maiden Dance 1964

Hans Hofmann made this dance of colour and form with paint on canvas. What I like is, instead of making something out of paint, he seems to let the paint make itself, following its own inclinations. Look at how thin and washy those blue areas are at the bottom, almost like ink blots. It’s as if he poured the paint on and then coaxed it around. Then, bam! He puts these marks on top, thick and black, like exclamation points. The vertical drips of brown paint are almost like a stage set, and the dance of marks seems to echo the title. Hofmann was obsessed with the push and pull of colour and form, something that makes me think about the paintings of another process-oriented artist, Helen Frankenthaler. It's like they both remind us that art is really just a conversation between the artist and the materials. And maybe, between us too.