Working since the early 1960s in Lower Manhattan, Charles Hinman formed part of a small artistic community, along with Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly and Agnes Martin, who tried to differentiate themselves from the Abstract Expressionists of the Upper East Side. Influenced by Ellsworth Kelly and his flat and contrasting Hard-Edge use of colour, Hinman’s painting is characterised by geometric shapes and colours that break out of the picture plane to create a dynamic tension between reality and illusion. Driven by the desire to show how the work’s three dimensional contours can become part of the subject, instead of mere window to display it, Hinman played a significant role in redefining the relationship between painting and sculpture.