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Egon Hoffmann – Linz
Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan

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  • Exhibition view, Egon Hofmann Linz. Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan, 2020
  • Exhibition view, Egon Hofmann Linz. Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan, 2020
  • Exhibtion view, Egon Hofmann Linz. Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan, 2020
  • Exhibition view, Egon Hofmann Linz. Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan, 2020
  • Exhibition view, Egon Hofmann Linz. Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan, 2020
  • Exhibition view, Egon Hofmann Linz. Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan, 2020

Egon Hofmann’s oeuvre must be seen as part of the first stirrings of modern painting in Upper Austria. By adding Linz” to his artist’s signature, Hofmann emphasised his closeness to Linz, the city that remained the focus of his work all his life. Having grown up in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in a well-to-do family, all his social, professional and private relations tied him to Linz. He counterbalanced this by travelling extensively, also to distant regions of the globe. That he studied law was supposed to serve the needs of the family business, but what he found truly congenial to his talents was the academic training as a painter, which he obtained in Paris, Stuttgart, and Dresden. His artistic talents had been spotted early on in his life and were consistently cultivated. His mother, Agathe Hofmann-Schwabenau, was a well-known painter in her own right and influenced his development. Another passionate commitment in evidence early on was to the mountain world, which he explored in extensive tours and expeditions. 

Hofmann’s pictorial language reflects the latest developments in the art of the early twentieth century, from Paul Cézanne and the artists of the Brücke“ to Swiss painters in the entourage of Ferdinand Hodler. He soon developed an unmistakable personal style in line, colour palette and stringent composition and became particularly proficient in rendering snow and ice. This led his friend, the artist Alfred Kubin, to describe him as the Meister der Firne“, the master of firns. Alongside his mountain pictures Hofmann painted exquisitely poetical still lifes and he documented his impressions as an indefatigable traveller. Another of his hallmarks after World War II are his views of the Mühlviertel.

Hofmann also used the woodcut technique to realise his themes with great compositional stringency and expressive power. Especially in his early prints he allowed some room for narrative elements. Conversely, in his paintings he largely eschewed figurative elements, as was also the case in the crayon drawings and watercolours he made In the immediate presence of his motif. Even when Egon Hofmann took over the family business, the Kirchdorfer Zementwerke, in 1934, he remained an artist first and foremost. As a restlessly active personality of great charisma he sought to promote a lively art scene in Linz. He was a driving force behind the foundation of both the artists’ association Der Ring“ and the Künstlerbund März“, serving as the chairman of the latter association for many years both before and after the war. His role as a mediator between business and art allowed him to facilitate major projectrs. In 1957, for example, his support called a studio house for young artists – Im Dörfl 3 – into being, which is named after him and has been a key player in Linz’s cultural life to this day. 

Curators: Michae­la Nagl, Andrea Bina
Exhibition design: Mar­git Grei­nö­cker und Tobi­as Hag­leit­ner (Exhibition design and management Egon-Hofmann-Haus)

Videos

*Please understand that we offer our video production in German language only.

Andrea Bina and Michaela Nagl in conversation about Egon Hofmann

Peter Kraft in conversation with Egon Hofmann

Gertrude and Rudolf Ecker about Egon Hofmann

Eva Hofmann - in conversation with Egon Hofmann

Artist Erich Ruprecht - in conversation with Egon Hofmann

Zur Ausstellung ist ein Katalog im Verlag Anton Pustet erschienen. Mit einem Vorwort von Andrea Bina und Texten von Andrea Bina, Bertold Ecker, Margit Greinöcker, Tobias Hagleitner und Michaela Nagl.


296 Seiten, deutsch

€29Visit shop

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