Armin Hoffman: Farbe / Color

For Armin Hofmann, lecturing at design schools and working as a freelance graphic artist went hand in hand: his activities as an educator invariably provided inspiration for his own work. Rather than a doctrinaire approach, Hofmann’s teaching style centered on the students’ engagement with their own experiences and abilities, so enabling them to hone their individual perception of design issues.  

During his many years as a teacher at various institutions across the world, including the Basel School of Design in Switzerland and the Yale University School of Art, Hofmann accumulated a treasure-trove of experiences and findings on the subject of color. Following his retirement, he produced 20 silkscreen portfolios, each containing 12 compositions.

The exhibition will showcase one of Hofmann’s portfolios as well as 16 studies of the prints as a part of Farbe / Color. The legendary Swiss graphic designer and educator has described his silkscreens as an account of his pedagogical activities. 

As an educator for 44 years, Hofmann has had immeasurable influence on generations of designers and shaped the world’s perception and understanding of color and design.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

April Greiman is a thinker, artist, designer, and educator, whose transmedia projects, innovative ideas and projects, and hybrid based approach have been influential worldwide over the last 30 years. Her explorations of image, word, and color are often integrated into the built environment and select projects with architects, fusing art with technology. A former student of Hofmann’s, Greiman curated this exhibition for its first U.S. showing in Los Angeles.