Candida Höfer

Candida Höfer, (*1944, Eberswalde, Germany) is undeniably one of the leading contemporary international photo artists, she belongs to the first generation of the Düsseldorf School of Photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher. She is primarily known for her large-format color photographs of mostly deserted interiors of artistic and cultural relevance. Since 1985, her works have regularly been displayed at the Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle and have been shown institutionally worldwide. Places of knowledge, places of education, places of enjoyment of the arts such as libraries, museums, public rooms of earthly and divine power in palaces and churches, cultural meeting places such as theatres and opera houses, which she composes deliberately matter-of-factly, from a central perspective or a diagonal ideal. Her large-format interiors of cultural institutions penetrate to the core of these architectural icons and make their temporality tangible. They are built, animated and maintained by people. Yet through the absence of these actors, Candida Höfer’s works create silent echoes, allowing the viewer to both find themselves and to trigger a state of humility within them.

The works by Candida Höfer can be found in reputable collections around the world, including Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin; HISCOX London; Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Hilti Art Foundation, Vaduz; Kunstmuseum Basel; Kunsthalle Hamburg; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago; Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien; MOMA, New York City; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Pinakotheken, Munich; Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City; Städel Museum, Frankfurt; Tate, London.