Written by Sarah S. K. Doyle, Art historian.

Thomas Hoppe stands as a modern artist, yet his approach is steeped in the rigorous discipline of modernism, blending ancient philosophies, color theory, geometry, and music. His primary mediums—pencil drawings and oil paintings—serve as the foundation for his self-developed theory, Symphonic Chromatic Fusion. At its core, this theory transcends traditional color study, drawing connections between the structures of music, geometry, and visual art.

Much like Georges Seurat, Hoppe paused to delve into historical color theories, examining the likes of Isaac Newton, Goethe, and Chevreul. Their groundbreaking work on the physics of light and color marked Hoppe’s own evolution as an artist. Seurat, with his rigorous adherence to scientific principles, revealed a way for Hoppe to approach art with similar premeditation, using a “silent scaffold” of geometry to guide his compositions.

Hoppe’s deep investigation of color extends beyond the canvas. In a way reminiscent of Kandinsky’s spiritual approach to art, Hoppe sees color and music as intertwined forces that can illuminate one another through harmony and discord. For Hoppe, geometry is to the physical world what music theory is to sound: a way of classifying relationships, predicting interactions, and evoking deeper emotional responses. His work explores these complex relationships, balancing rigorous abstraction with tangible emotion.

The artist’s theory of Symphonic Chromatic Fusion integrates the twelve tonal frequencies of Western music with the twelve colors of the traditional color wheel. These ideas, rooted in Newton’s Opticks and further refined by figures like Goethe and Chevreul, inform Hoppe’s belief that art is a system of structured relationships that mirror those in music and geometry. Color, for Hoppe, is as much a tool of precision as sound, where variations in tone or hue can produce harmonious or dissonant effects, much like a chord in music.

Hoppe’s creative process is deeply influenced by a wide array of thinkers and movements. From Newton’s scientific quantification of light and color, to Goethe’s philosophical exploration of color’s emotional impact, to Chevreul’s discovery of simultaneous color contrast, Hoppe has absorbed and synthesized centuries of theory into his practice. He approaches color as a tool for both emotional expression and scientific investigation, applying a systematic lens to every brushstroke.

Hoppe spent nearly a decade refining his theories, with his study of Seurat’s Divisionism and ancient philosophical discussions about color laying the groundwork. His fascination with geometry and the structure behind visual composition brought him to an unexpected subject: Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. These iconic figures became the unlikely protagonists in Hoppe’s quest to merge geometry with emotional resonance. By dropping the dolls onto his studio floor and observing the spontaneous composition, Hoppe discovered natural patterns—Fibonacci sequences, geometric grids—that revealed underlying harmonies in even the most familiar objects.

Thomas Hoppe, “The Arm of Raggedy Ann & Andy in Fibonacci Sequence” Circa 1998.

What Raggedy Ann and Andy offered Hoppe was a bridge between the simplicity of childhood treasures and the complexity of masterful compositions. By applying geometric principles to the dolls, Hoppe found a way to distill the essence of their forms into abstract compositions. This process mirrors the way masters like Leonardo da Vinci infused their work with hidden structures, silent systems that create a doorway into the deeper meaning of the artwork. Hoppe’s Raggedy Ann and Andy Canon series serves as a metaphor for his own artistic journey—a quest to uncover the fundamental structures that govern both the visual and the emotional world.

Music plays an equally critical role in Hoppe’s theory. The twelve notes in a musical scale correspond to the twelve colors on a color wheel, creating a direct parallel between harmonious color combinations and musical chords. A “C Major 7” chord—composed of C, E, G, and B—is visually mirrored in Hoppe’s work by the use of Red, Yellow, Blu-green, and Red-violet. This cross-disciplinary approach allows Hoppe to explore tension and resolution in both sight and sound, creating works that vibrate with internal rhythm.

Hoppe’s works, such as Red Major Spiral and Canon in Blu, illustrate his ability to translate musical structure into visual form. The former mirrors the harmonious structure of a musical scale, while the latter represents a journey into the depths of color theory, using blu as the key to unlock complex emotional and spiritual layers. These compositions are not just paintings; they are visual symphonies, where each color and shape plays a specific role in the overall harmony of the piece.

Thomas Hoppe, “Red Major Spiral” Circa 1997.

Thomas Hoppe, “Canon in Blu” Circa 2000.

Thomas Hoppe, “Canon in Blu Glaze Formula”, (Excerpt from Hoppe Theory Books) Circa 1999

The influence of Kandinsky is unmistakable in Hoppe’s work, as both artists sought to elevate the role of color in art to one of spiritual significance. For Kandinsky, colors had an internal “scent” that resonated within the soul, and Hoppe continues this exploration, assigning geometric forms and musical notes to his colors in a way that feels both precise and emotionally resonant.

Ultimately, Hoppe’s Symphonic Chromatic Fusion is a grand theory that seeks to unite music, geometry, and color into a single language. By finding the mathematical, emotional, and spiritual connections between these disciplines, Hoppe offers a new way of seeing and understanding art—one that bridges the gap between the physical and the metaphysical. His work stands as both a continuation of and a departure from the great art historical movements that came before him, from the Old Masters to the Dadaists, Minimalists, and beyond.