A painting of bold, overlapping square-like shapes in blue, orange, green, and red.
Indian Summer, 1959; oil on canvas, 60 ⅛ × 72 ​¼ in.; BAMPFA, gift of the artist. Photo by Jonathan Bloom.

Gallery: Abstract beginnings

As one of the 20th century’s most influential painters, Hans Hofmann defied category. From landscapes and still lifes to organic shapes and swirling lines to abstract expressions of mood and mind, the artist continuously experimented with different techniques. Although best known for his exuberant, rectangular color planes of the 1950s and 60s, a monumental exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) offers a fresh look at his entire career, including dozens of prophetic, yet understudied pieces from the 1930s and 40s. Indian Summer (pictured) — a reflection on nature, an enduring source of inspiration — also represents “push and pull,” a technique he developed in which bold panels emerge from and recede into energetic surfaces.

Hans Hofmann: The Nature of Abstraction marked a major milestone in BAMPFA’s long history with the artist, who in 1963 donated nearly 50 paintings and substantial money toward realizing the university’s first art museum.

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