Romantische ironie 2_4

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Frank Hoffmann is fascinated by the superimposition of authentically perceived moods with stereotypical ideas, which in turn are in the field of tension with terms like “beauty” and “pathos” and their art historical background noise. Thus, the pictorial themes move between figurative concretization and stronger abstraction. The ideas are collaged in a mix of analog and digital work steps. At the same time, painting itself increasingly becomes an issue in its artistic possibilities.

For a very similar concept of a constant change between work and immanent self-reflection, between construction of illusion and its disruption, the early Romanticists originally coined the term "romantic irony" for the field of literature. It is precisely this dialectical approach of floating, the intimations in terms of form and content that characterizes Hoffmann’s work. Closely related to this is the actual cinematic principle of suspense, which he transfers to his painting series.

Accompanying painting, Hoffmann has been intensively involved in the printing technique of algraphy in recent years. These works are based in part on the charcoal drawings that make up the sketch on the canvas or are independent tests of image ideas and their implementation.
Another group of works in the direct context of painting is that of masking foil objects. Here he continues to process the masking foils used in the painting process. It corresponds a little to the reverse glass painting, the films take up the charcoal drawing from behind, the oil paint comes from the front. Now they are "floating" between two glass plates in magnetic frame without rear wall.