Karl Hofmann: In the Balance

December 1, 2017 – January 13, 2018

December 1, 2017 – January 13, 2018

 

516 ARTS presents In the Balance, a large-scale installation by Karl Hofmann. This solo project transforms the front windows and entrance space of 516 ARTS to create a monumental, intricate and playful sculptural environment that utilizes form, color and light. Using repurposed scrap building materials, Hofmann uses harmony and lyricism to build tension and interest with surprising and unexpected results.

Hofmann says, “My work is about the struggle to achieve both compositional and literal balance. The title of this project references the profound sense of uncertainty I feel as much of the world seems to teetering between order and chaos.” By commissioning this new work, 516 ARTS is seeking to engage the cityscape and street traffic in Downtown Albuquerque with non-traditional visual art. For the end of 2017 and kicking off 2018, Hofmann’’s ambitious work re-activates the windows and entrance of the gallery along Central Avenue in a dynamic way. This exhibition was curated by Claude Smith.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Karl Hofmann is an Albuquerque-based artist who combines his formal training in painting and drawing with an art practice that goes beyond the walls of a studio. His work reflects a keen eye for visual problem solving and combines aspects of Pop, Dada and Expressionism in an effort to portray the sublime, epic and phenomenal. Hofmann holds a BFA from the University of Michigan and an MFA from the University of New Mexico. He was an Artist in Residence at DaWang Culture Highland in China and is the recipient of the Arnold W. Brown Endowed Scholarship, the Florence Henri Prize, and the Harry Nadler Memorial Fellowship, among other awards. His work has been and has been exhibited internationally.

PRESS
 

Kathaleen Roberts, “Installation offers artist ‘opportunity to engage with the street’” Albuquerque Journal

Nora Wendl, “Karl Hofmann: In the Balance” The Magazine