Sanctum Sanctorum 1962

Editor: Hans Hofmann’s "Sanctum Sanctorum," created in 1962 with mixed media including oil and acrylic paint, really strikes me with its boldness. The impasto gives the colors such depth, but it almost feels… restless? What's your interpretation of it? Curator: Restless is a brilliant observation. Hofmann's Abstract Expressionism aimed to capture pure feeling, you see, and here, that energetic push and pull between the vibrant blocks is everything. Imagine Hofmann, in his 80s, still charging at the canvas. Doesn't that idea itself add to the dynamism? The "Sanctum Sanctorum," the holiest place – what does it suggest when rendered not as serenity, but this? Perhaps for Hofmann, the sacred place *was* the act of creation itself. Editor: That makes so much sense! I was stuck on the idea of a "sanctum" being peaceful. I didn't think about the creative act. Curator: And what IS peace anyway, darling? A perfect stillness? Or perhaps, a hard-won balance between powerful forces. Notice how those seemingly random rectangles actually hold each other in perfect tension. It's a visual argument. What do *you* think he's arguing? Editor: Maybe about how chaos and order are both always present, both necessary. Curator: Precisely! Hofmann found the sacred in that very struggle. It’s less about pretty, and all about potent. Something I need to be reminded of now and then. Editor: Me too. I'll never look at a rectangle the same way again! Thanks for this, it feels like I've unlocked a secret.