David Richard Gallery is pleased to announce, “More Than A Feeling,” a solo exhibition of recent paintings by New York-based artist George Hofmann and his debut presentation with the Gallery. The exhibition will be on view from February 1 through 28, 2020 at David Richard Gallery located at 211 East 121 Street, New York, New York 10035, P: 212-882-1705. The presentation includes 12 paintings created during 2008 through 2010 that range in size from 40 x 32 inches and up to 70 x 90 inches. The abstract compositions fill the canvases from edge-to-edge with sweeping passages of harmonic and nuanced color palettes, while the titles reference landscapes, the sea, clouds and light. The viewer’s contemplation of the imagery is provoked by such titles.

Hofmann’s paintings reference nature, earth elements and contemplative moments from his personal life. However, his work has evolved more out of emotion and less from his classical and analytical art training. Hofmann uses his gut reaction to making decisions about color selections, painting surfaces and methods of applying pigment to supports. In that regard, he sees his work as more ideological and being true to himself and his emotions rather than what is popular at any moment in time. His application of paint by a variety of methods, including staining, brushing, layering and overpainting is thus soulful, creating an experience of the world he sees and moments he has lived, rather than a detailed picture or actual image.

Having studied during the peak and later years of Abstract Expressionism, then beginning his professional career alongside the explosion of Color Field painting, it is no wonder his work is rooted in bold, strong gestures with swaths and large passages of harmonic hues of color. Creating abstract paintings for over six decades, Hofmann explores color and form using a variety of techniques with saturated hues and dilute glazes of acrylic paint. His preferred supports are canvas, linen and paper. However, recently, Hofmann has been working on smooth wood panels that reveal the grain so that he can build and excavate the paint to fragment his compositions on a natural surface, making them more reductive and a different viewing experience.