Legends of Distant Past Days 1965

Hans Hofmann made Legends of Distant Past Days with oil on canvas, and it’s a riot of browns punctuated with flashes of high-key colour. You get the feeling that Hofmann laid down these marks intuitively, revelling in the pure joy of painting. The surface has this great tactile quality; you can almost feel the thick impasto and see the direction of the brushstrokes, the physicality of the medium. There's a vibrant energy in the application of the paint. Take a look at the little pool of yellow at the bottom. It's like a burst of sunshine against the earthier tones, a tiny beacon. It reminds me of a Joan Mitchell I saw once, which was all about these grounded, almost muddy colours, shot through with moments of pure, unadulterated joy. Hofmann's work, much like Mitchell’s, reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, a dance between artists across time. And that it’s all about exploring, questioning, and embracing the beautiful mess of interpretation.