Ecstasy 1947

Hans Hofmann made this oil painting on canvas, Ecstasy, and the title alone tells you a lot about his process. I imagine it as something totally wild and unleashed. You know, looking at the surface, it’s pretty clear that Hofmann wasn’t trying to hide anything. The paint looks thick and juicy. Those edges around the shapes are so blunt and honest, like he just went for it, no second-guessing. The way those blacks drag across the blue, almost scribbled in places, gives this feeling of immediate expression. And that scribble near the top right? It looks like a kid was let loose with a crayon. But that’s what makes it so exciting. It’s like Hofmann is saying, “Here it is, all of it, the good, the messy, the everything.” He reminds me a bit of de Kooning, that same embrace of ambiguity. I guess art is about embracing the chaos, finding some kind of order, or maybe not, and just letting it all hang out.