Fred Hoffman worked closely with Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1982 to 1984, during the artist's residency in Venice, California. During this time, Hoffman produced most of the artist's limited edition silkscreen prints. In 2005-6, Fred Hoffman co-curated the artist's last American retrospective at The Brooklyn Museum; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and the Houston Museum of Fine Art. Hoffman served as a member of the Authentication Committee for the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat for several years. In 2014, he published Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name at Acquavella Gallery, New York. In 2017, Hoffman published The Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
As a gallerist in the 1980s and '90s, Hoffman organized major exhibitions with such artists as Basquiat, Richard Serra, Frank O. Gehry, Chris Burden, John McCracken, Robert Rauschenberg, Tom Wesselmann, George Segal, Alex Katz, Dan Flavian, Cindy Sherman, Jenny Holzer, Sophie Calle, Barbara Kruger, Dennis Hopper, Julian Schnabel, Don Van Vliet and James Lee Byars.
Fred Hoffman (Ph.D. 1976, UCLA) is the author of several publications, including the major monograph/catalogue raissoné on Chris Burden; Keith Haring, The Birth of Wonder; Thoughts on the Return and Artistic Maturation of Dennis Hopper and The Art of Don Van Vliet. Hoffman produced two early artist books with Mike Kelley.
The text of this talk is available at fredhoffmanfineart.com