“Towering Spaciousness” is an abstract piece of contemporary art by Hans Hofmann completed in 1956, when the artist was already 76 years old. It is a combination of geometric forms, vivid colors, and bold textures written with oil on canvas. Hofmann uses overwhelmingly warm colors for the background, for the most part orange and yellow with a few red parts. However, he also adds cold blue and green shapes and gestures, adding a layer of complexity to the painting. The piece is mostly light in value and has a rectangular shape which reminds the viewer of a window that has been broken and temporarily fixed over. Although “Towering Spaciousness” is an abstract piece, the layers of color and shapes add dimensions to it, making it more complex. While it is impossible to feel the texture of the painting from a picture, it appears to be a rough one that creates a sense of three-dimensional properties. Although the piece is not currently on view in person, it can be viewed online on the Brooklyn Museum website.
Hofmann was born in Bavaria, Germany in the year 1880 and by the late 1930s had settled in New York, later becoming a teacher as well as a painter. During the first 30 years of the 20th century, Hofmann travelled from his hometown to Munich, Paris, and eventually the US. Over the years, he was fortunate to encounter the great artists of the time, including Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, George Braque, Wassily Kandinsky and many others (“Hans Hofmann: The Artist”). Driven by the support of the people in his life and his passion for art and expression, Hofmann played a pivotal role in the Abstract Expressionism development (“Hans Hofmann: The Artist”). By boldly combining shapes and textures, the artist created images that are thought-provoking and engaging.
One of the most celebrated features of Hofmann’s art is the color boldness he opts for in his pieces, and “Towering Spaciousness” is no exception. The artist Ellen Landau refers to it as a “rhythmic composition” of Hofmann’s surrealistic exploration of his subconscious (Landau & Schreyach, 2019). Landau uses the word “rhythmic” due to the appeared loudness of the painting that comes from Hofmann’s color choices. Indeed, the painting appears to be expanding beyond the canvas and into the minds of those that look at it, a cacophony of shapes and colors that works together beautifully. Hofmann strived to encourage artists to connect with nature, and one of the tools he believed in was color. Instead of depicting the reality around him in realistic ways, Hofmann opted for minimalized images from his subconscious. The choices of colors and shapes and their combinations on the canvas conveys the simplistic view of nature, both from memory and imagination of the artist.
Furthermore, Hofmann uses objects and spaces in ways that convey a story without making it a concrete narrative. Instead, the artist uses the relationship between the simple objects in his painting and the spaces around them, as well as the relationships within the former, to show the underlying principles of nature. The artist believed that no object in isolation had any meaning, which is evident from the network of connections of shapes and colors in “Towering Spaciousness”. Joan Murray refers to the “push and pull” theory that explains Hofmann’s painting, with the opposing forces working together to create the illusion of depth (1996). While the painting does not have representational forms or perspective, it appears to be three-dimensional regardless, due to the artist’s use of color and shape.
As the creator of the “push and pull” theory, Hofmann believed in the outdated nature of representational art. Instead, he believed that artists like himself should strive to use less obvious techniques for atmospheric perspective. Paintings in the modern day are unlikely to be as realistic as a photograph, so there are other sources of expression that artists strive for. Instead of explicitly telling the viewer what the painting means, Hofmann chooses to leave hints around the canvas with his brush.
Moreover, the socio-political incentive of the artist can also be seen in the painting. As an influential and thoughtful mind of the early 20th century, Hofmann travelled the world and experienced nature in many shapes and forms. One of the undeniably influential parts of nature in his life were the people around him, including the immigrants like himself. While the painting does not have a clear and concrete message for the viewer, it is a thought-provoking piece that encourages others to be bold and true to themselves.
There are endless interpretations of the “Towering Spaciousness,” and like with any piece of art each analysis and takeaway is subjective to the person viewing it. However, there are notable parts of the piece that should not be missed, namely the color and shape use. Similar to guessing which shapes the clouds represent in the sky, a person looking at an abstract painting sees only what they are prepared to see. Hofmann shows that it is possible to be realistic in the most surrealistic way in this and his other paintings.
Works Cited
Landau, Ellen G., and Michael, Schreyach. Hans Hofmann: The Nature of Abstraction. United States, University of California Press, 2019.
Murray, Joan. Confessions of a Curator: Adventures in Canadian Art. Dundurn Press, 1996.
“Hans Hofmann: The Artist”. Hans Hofmann.org.