Book Description
Candida Höfer creates meticulously composed images of public and institutional spaces marked with the richness of human activity, yet largely devoid of human presence. Whether a photograph of a national library or a lounge at Volkswagen's headquarters, Höfer's images ask us to conduct distanced, disengaged examinations through the windows she creates. The collected images present a universe wholly constructed by human intention, unearthing patterns of order and logic imposed on these spaces by their absent creators and inhabitants.
The Architecture of Absence examines Höfer's oeuvre and its relationship to the work of other noted students of renowned professors Bernd and Hilla Becher. An exhibition of this work will open at the University Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach in January 2005, and travel to the co-organizing museum, the Norton Museum in Florida, among other venues.
About the Author
Candida Höfer studied photography under Bernd Becher from 1976 until 1982. Since 1975 she has had solo exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout Europe and the United States, including the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany; the Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland; the Centre Photographique d'Ile de France; Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco; Johnen & Schottle, Cologne; and Sonnabend Gallery, New York.
Candida Hofer: Architecture of Absence FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Over the last thirty years, Candida Hofer has created meticulously composed images of the interiors of public and institutional spaces - spaces marked with the richness of human activity, yet largely devoid of human presence. Whether it be a photograph of a national library or a hotel lobby, Hofer's images ask us to conduct a distanced, disengaged examination through the window she has created. Seen as a collection, her rhythmically patterned images present a universe of interiors wholly constructed by human intention, unearthing patterns of order, logic, and disruption imposed on these spaces by their now absent creators and inhabitants." Architecture of Absence examines Hofer's unique oeuvre and the relationship of her architecture work to that of the Becher circle - noted students of the Dusseldorf Art Academy's renowned professor Bernd Becher, including Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky, and Axel Hutte.
Art & Photography
Book Info
