PAINTS THE BLUES
The fact that my father, Dr. Guillermo Hoeffner would, in the late 1940s, become the first true Collector of Blues in Argentina and that, at an early age, I would inherit his same passion for the genre of music was fundamental to my work. From my very first exhibitions to the most recent, the Blues, the blues musicians, the environment and the atmosphere have permeated deeply into my creations. In the last few years, my work has become tri-dimensional as I have added cardboard, metal, wood and other elements to the flat surface. Coincidentally, during this same time frame, I moved to the Delta in Tigre where I was able to find an inexhaustible source of waste material for my art work. In my subconscious, this exotic landscape where the river meets nature, so similar to that of the Mississippi Delta or the Louisiana swamps, are inspiring and ever-present in my painting and yet, I have never been there.

Conjuror of the Mississippi
It is the rare kaleidoscopic quality of the Argentine culture that so often manifests by nourishing itself with foreign expressions, devoid of complexes or scruples, displaying an astonishing capacity for assimilation. In that same spontaneous way in which Gertrude Chale ventures deep into Argentina to make it her own, Max Hoeffner rigorously captures the pictorial theme needed in order to project a universe of his own. His works denote a conviction that can only be understood by the quality of his artistic vision. There is not a single tone that escapes his multi-faceted resources; sour and sometimes sweet colors acting in unison to serve the purpose of unity. This harsh harmony, at times mesmerizing, conquers a diversity of elements. If in our sweet childhood we ventured into the worlds of Mark Twain with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and read William Faulkner’s The Wild Palm; in adulthood, it is Max Hoeffner who brings back this delight in his saffron-colored skies, his trains, ships and his cars overflowing with humanity as well as his interiors thickened by the alcohol, the dance, the noise and the music. Referring to the qualities of his craft and his pictorial processes is an understatement. His true entity and dimension is that of a conjuror of the Mississippi. Francisco Travieso Translated by Pamela Gowland