"Peter Allen Hoffman ~ When the Cathedrals Were White" At the Thomas Robertello Gallery

Written by Anthony Phillipson Saturday, 23 April 2011 23:36

Chicago.- Until May 21st, the Thomas Robertello Gallery is delighted to present "When the Cathedrals Were White", new paintings by Brooklyn-based artist Peter Allen Hoffmann. This inaugural exhibition in the gallery's new location at 27 N Morgan St. is the artist's second solo exhibition with the gallery. The title of Hoffmann's exhibition is taken from the book by influential French modernist architect and designer, Le Corbusier; When the Cathedrals Were White. Perhaps most notable among Le Corbusier's influences found in Hoffmann's work is the idea of Reflection. Reflection as mirror to the artist and viewer, as memory, as spatial gaming within the picture plane, the play of light and water, and reflection as measurement of time taken to engage with the work itself.

Literal and metaphorical references to the idea of reflection abound in Hoffmann's small scale, mostly 12 × 12" square paintings. The imagery contains numerous references to landscape, abstract, and still life painters including Courbet, Albers, and others. These influences are combined with representations of landscape painted from memory, including images from Islesboro, Maine where the artist often works during the summer. Together, these sources combine to form an intimate amalgam of disparate imagery. Hoffmann's meticulous process succeeds in slowing down the viewer's eye by subtly revealing layers in the work. Hoffmann's work dissolves whatever boundary might exist between viewer, art object/image and everything else, leading one toward windows and measurements of time.


Hoffmann's paintings contain a multitude of elements comprising an enormous measurement of time contained within a very small scope. Each element requires a deliberate action signifying the completion of a step in his process of resolving the painting. While the brush work is obvious, the paintings are completely devoid of gesture, and resolve their identities completely. The compression of time in each work prolongs the attention span of the viewer, and the artist's own editing process upturns the viewer's perception of amount of time taken to create and understand the work. Even the specificity of their point in history is elusive.

Peter Allen Hoffmann (b. 1979 Philadelphia, PA) lives in Brooklyn, NY. His work has been exhibited in New York at The Painting Center and Freight + Volume Gallery, Galerie Open in Berlin, The Wexford Art Centre in Ireland, and in Chicago at Thomas Robertello Gallery. Thomas Robertello Gallery has exhibited contemporary artwork in all media since the gallery's inaugural exhibition in April, 2006. TRG organizes exhibitions and seeks exhibition opportunities outside Chicago and in museums for represented artists. The gallery assists collectors, writers, curators, students, and artists who wish to learn more about the gallery's artists or acquire work. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://thomasrobertello.com

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