Murray Hochman: New Dimensions

Murray Hochman is a self-taught painter who has developed a significant body of work over the course of nearly 60 years. While his early paintings were recognized by leading galleries and collectors, since then Hochman has kept himself largely removed from the art establishment, letting his own processes, both internal and external, and his materials shape his work. In 2012 he left his studio in New York City and continues to work from a converted barn in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. 

Murray Hochman has explored the possibilities of light, color, geometry and gesture, using lacquer spray paints and solvents to build subtle, richly layered surfaces on canvas and paper. The last several years have been a period of intense experimentation, including the use of new materials. 

This exhibition of Hochman’s newest work also includes sculpture, his first foray into the third dimension since his study of ceramics in graduate school. In a series created from materials collected at the local dump, he turns plastic waste into arresting assemblages—sumptuous wall reliefs and free-standing sculptures—along with glittery still lifes. The results range from the playful to the sublime, underscoring the tension between the discarded base materials and their seemingly alchemical transformations. This transformation is filtered through Hochman’s acute perception of surface and lifelong exploration of materials.