Laburnum (1954) is an Abstract Expressionist painting made from oil on linen. In this work, Hofmann uses thick impasto to create layers of texture. The painting depicts rectangular forms balancing beside scribbles, scrapes and drippings of colour, giving the artwork a visceral quality.
Read MorePompeii (1959) is a large abstract oil painting that belongs to Hofmann's collection of 'slab' paintings. Arguably his most famous series of work, Hofmann's 'slab' artworks feature thickly-textured rectangles of paint besides shifting swathes of colour.
In Pompeii (1959), Hofmann uses a kaleidoscope of colours to depict gestural abstract compositions. He creates the feeling of space and movement by using different colours and shapes to give the illusion of differing depths of perspective. Hofmann often mapped out his 'slab' paintings by pinning rectangles of coloured paper to the canvas.
Written over a period of 40 years for his own teaching purposes and for periodical journals, Hofmann's Search for the Real, and Other Essays (1948) is a collection of essays on art and visual culture. In the book, Hofmann explores contemporary visual expression under subheadings like 'Painting and Culture', 'On the Aims of Art' and 'Plastic Creation'.
Search for the Real, and Other Essays was originally published by the Addison Gallery of American Art in Massachusetts for the Hans Hofmann retrospective in 1948.
