Frank Stella on Hans Hofmann: The Greatest Painter of the 1960s

Artpress publishes Frank Stella's 1999 essay on Hans Hofmann, originally written for the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami and later included in 'The Writings of Frank Stella' (2001). Stella argues that Hofmann, though often reduced to a pedagogue, produced the best paintings of the 1960s—surpassing even Pollock and Rauschenberg. He highlights Hofmann's ability to create a 'fractional dimension' between 2D and 3D through color, as seen in works like 'Goliath' (1960) and 'Gloriamundi' (1963). Stella connects Hofmann's innovations to later artists like Smithson, Serra, and Heizer. The essay also references Stella's own monumental sculpture (16m diameter, 10.5m high) built at the Cherbourg shipyard with assistance from Martin Francis, Earl Childress, and RFR Engineering. In April 2002, Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris presents a Frank Stella exhibition.