Candida Höfer

Basic Data

Candida Höfer is one of the most renowned German photographers and is, besides Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, and Tobias Struth, part of the photographic avant-garde of the contemporary. Höfer was professor for photography at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe until 2000 and is a member of the Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg.

• Born: 4 February 1944
• Place of birth: Eberswalde, Brandenburg
• Nationality: German
• Studied at: Kölner Werksschulen, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
• Teachers: Arno Jansen, Ole John, Bernd and Hilla Becher
• Similar artists: Thomas Ruff, Andreas Gursky, Bernd und Hilla Becher, Thomas Demand
• Era: Contemporary art
• Stylistic direction: Fine-art photography

The artist lives and works in Cologne.

 

Candida Höfer Prices

 

Candida Höfer for sale

You are interested in the art of the artist Candida Höfer? Under Candida Höfer artworks and editions you will find our portfolio of limited editions of the photo artist.

 

Candida Höfer Editions

Alongside artists such as Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff or Thomas Struth, the German photographer Candida Höfer belongs to the group of Bernd and Hilla Becher students of the Düsseldorf Art Academy, who today belong to the international photographic avant-garde of our time.

In the beginning, the artist still photographed people. In her early works, Höfer focused on the changes in German society brought about by the influx of Turkish migrants. She became successful with photographs of interiors, which she began in the 1980s. She created extensive series in which she photographed public spaces such as libraries, gymnasiums, lecture halls, museums, and even zoological gardens and cafés.

Currently you can find a careful selection of Candida Höfer editions in our online gallery, which were created in editions between 50 and 100 copies and are handsigned by the artist. 

 

Candida Höfer Photography

Empty representative spaces are characteristic of Candida Höfer's work. Above all, the absence of people is characteristic of her photographs. Timeless and unaltered, Höfer documents public and semi-public spaces that take on a presence that goes beyond a purely functional level of meaning. It is precisely through the absence of people that Höfer's photographs are full of presence. She succeeds in making the actual tangible to the viewer without depicting it. The spirit of the place germinates anew in the viewer's imagination. The artist invites us to discover her paintings and reflect on what these spaces mean to us and what we do with them.

In our portfolio you will find three original Candida Höfer photographs. Among them the C-print photograph Palace Rome from 1990 in the size of 54 x 67.5 cm and the photo edition Museum Morsbroich. In the latter, the artist photographed the museum's magnificent Hall of Mirrors. The room's presence is enhanced primarily by the accentuated visual axes of the room's hallways in the photograph. In addition to these culturally iconic locations, however, Höfer also photographs semi-public, more everyday places. In other series of images, for example, she devotes herself to old production sites. For one project, Höfer created six photographs of the Druckerei J.J. Augustin Glückstadt. The artist documents the printing plant in Glücksstadt, which has been shut down for decades, and lends new dignity to the site as a cultural monument. The Candida Höfer photos were exhibited in the exhibition ,,Zwiebelfische - Jimmy Ernst und die Druckerei J. J. Augustin Glückstadt - New York'' at the Detlefsen Museum in Brockdorff-Palais in 2013. The photo edition is accompanied by a book, as well as a DVD with the excellent documentary film by Christian Bau and Artur Dieckhoff.

 

Candida Höfer Prints

The artist Candida Höfer, born in 1944, produced a large number of prints of her photographs in addition to photographs. In our portfolio you will also find a lithograph by the artist, which we offer for sale. The first is the signed and numbered color lithograph Reggia di Portici from 2010, which measures 67 x 70 cm and was published in an edition of 100 copies. This edition was created on the occasion of the reopening of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in 2010. The choice of motif for the print seems surprising at first. It does not show an actual photograph, but a painted illusionistic space. Here, too, Höfer manages to breathe new life into the empty baroque space of the royal palace. For here the photographer shows a historic mural of the palazzo, and not only saves it from weathering, but in a sense gives it a second contemporary artistic life. 

 

More artworks by Candida Höfer

Currently you can find three photography limited editions by Candida Höfer as well as a lithograph by the artist in our portfolio. We will be happy to search for further works by the photo artist for you upon request.

 

 

Biography

The photographer Candida Höfer was born in Eberswalde on February 4^th 1944. She grew up in Cologne as the daughter of the journalist and television presenter Werner Höfer. She developed an interest in the medium of photography at an early age and eventually decided to pursue the career of a photographer. Höfer then began a one-year traineeship at the age of 19 at the well-known Schmölz-Huth photo studio in Cologne.

From 1964 to 1968 she studied artistic photography at the Cologne Werkschulen under the photographer Arno Jansen. After successfully completing her studies, she worked as a freelance photographer in Cologne for the following two years. She then moved to Hamburg to work in the Werner Bokelberg photo studio. From 1972 she lived in Cologne again. After working in a gallery, Höfer decided to study photography for a second time. Thus, from 1973, she attended Ole John's film class at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Three years later she switched to Bernd Becher's renowned photography class. She completed her studies in 1982.

During her time in Bernd Becher's class, Höfer increasingly began to focus on public spaces in her photographic works and to deliberately exclude people from her compositions. The depiction of deserted interiors was to be the photographer's international breakthrough. Already during the last years of her studies, her works were shown in numerous national solo and group exhibitions. The first major international exhibitions followed from the mid-1980s. She thus joins the ranks of successful Becher students such as Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth and is counted with them among the so-called Düsseldorfer 'Photoschule'.

Other milestones in her career include her participation in documenta 11 in Kassel in 2002 and the fact that she represented Germany at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 together with Martin Kippenberger. From 1997 to 2000 Höfer was a professor at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe. She has been a member of the Media Section of the Free Academy of the Arts in Hamburg since 2003 and of the Class of the Arts in the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts since 2010.

Candida Höfer is one of the best-known German photographers today, celebrating great success both nationally and internationally. She has been a recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit since 2015 and was honoured with the Sony World Photography Award in London in 2018. Today Höfer lives and works in Cologne.  

 

Exhibitions

• 30.09.2022 – 10.04.2023 Candida Höfer – Liechtenstein - Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz.
• 14.10.2022 – 22.02.2023 Museum Ludwig, Cologne - History of a Collection with Civic Commitments - The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.
• 22.09.2022 – 23.02.2023 Das Tier in Dir - MUMOK Wien.
• 30.03.2022 – 31.07.2022 SCHINDLER HOUSE LOS ANGELES - MAK Wien.
• 25.03.2022 – 28.08.2022 Bild und Raum. Candida Höfer - Museum für Fotografie, Berlin.
• 19.06.2021 – 03.10.2021 Fotogeschichten zur Migration – Museum Ludwig Köln, Cologne.
• 21.03.2020 – 16.08.2020 SUBJEKT und OBJEKT. FOTO RHEIN RUHR – Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
• 20.03.2021 – 29.09.2021 Groups and Spots – Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf.
• 21.03.2020 – 16.08.2020 SUBJEKT und OBJEKT. FOTO RHEIN RUHR – Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
• 15.04.2018 – 06.01.2020 LICHTEMPFINDLICH. Fotografie aus der Sammlung Schaufler – Schauwerk, Sindelfingen.
• 20.09.2019 – 13.01.2019 Der Flaneur - Vom Impressionismus bis zur Gegenwart – Kunstmuseum Bonn.
• 17.03.2018 – 09.07.2018 CANDIDA HÖFER EN MÉXICO –Museo Amparo, Puebla.
• 16.09.2017 – 31.10.2017 Deutschland 8 – German Art in Beijing – Yuan Art Museum, Beijing.
• 27.04.2017 – 13.08.2017 Fotografien werden Bilder. Die Becher-Klasse – Städel Museum Frankfurt.
• 19.11.2016 – 04.02.2017 Candida Höfer – Observations – Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne.
• 01.10.2016 – 22.01.2017 Sammlung Viehof. Internationale Kunst Der Gegenwart – Deichtorhallen, Hamburg & Sammlungen Falkenberg.
• 02.12.2015 – 28.05.2016 NO MAN'S LAND - Rubell Family Collection, Miami.
• 16.08.2015 – 07.10.2015 CANDIDA HÖFER. ON METHODS - Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing.
• 22.11.2014 – 24.06.2015 CANDIDA HÖFER CLOSER – Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich.
• 01.11.2014 – 08.02.2015 Candida Höfer - Düsseldorf – Kunstmuseum Luzern.
• 28.06.2014 – 05.10.2015 Unbeugsam und ungebändigt: Dokumentarische Fotografie um 1979 – Museum Ludwig, Cologne.
• 25.06.2014 – 19.09.2014 CANDIDA HÖFER: VILLA BORGHESE - Ben Brown Fine Arts, London.

 

Awards

• 2018: Sony World Photography Awards, London.
• 2015: Cologne-Fine-Art-Prize, Cologne.
• 2015: Bundesverdienstkreuz.
• 2007: Kunstpreis Finkenwerder, life's work.
• 1987: ars viva-Prize from the Cultural Circle of the German Economy.

 

Literature

• Candida Höfer. Nach Berlin, Marius Babias (Publ.), Berlin 2017.
• Candida Höfer in Mexiko, Uta Grosenick, Herbert Burkert (Publ.), Berlin 2016.
• Candida Höfer, Düsseldorf, Exhibition catalogue, Gunda Luyken (Publ.), Dusseldorf 2013.
• Affinities, Ausstellungskatalog, Artipelag (Publ.), Munich 2012.
• Candida Höfer, Haus Ludwig, Exhibition catalogue, Barbara Engelbach (Publ.), Nuremberg 2011.
• Candida Höfer - Spaces of their own, Exhibition catalogue, Herbert Burkert, Luisa Castro, Enrique Vila-Matas, Munich 2010.
• Candida Höfer, Philadelphia, Exhibition catalogue, Galerie der Stadt Tuttlingen (Publ.), Munich 2010.
• Candida Höfer, projects done, Exhibition catalogue, Markus Heinzelmann (Publ.), Cologne 2009.
• Candida Höfer. Orte Jahre. Photographien 1968–1999, Photographischen Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur (Publ.), Munich  Paris  London 1999.

 

Own Writings

• Silent spaces, Candida Höfer & Rui Xavier, Berlin 2015.
• Candida Höfer - Napoli,  Candida Höfer & Angela Tecce, Munich 2009.

 

Collections

Denmark

• Copenhagen - The National Museum of Photography Copenhagen

Germany

• Berlin - Georg Kolbe Museum
• Berlin – Hamburger Bahnhof
• Cologne – Museum Ludwig
• Cologne - Die Photographische Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur
• Neu-Ulm - The Walther Collection
• Karlsruhe – ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medien & Museum für Neue Kunst

 

France

• Paris – Centre Pompidou

 

England

• London – Zabludowicz Collection

 

Austria

• Vienna – Wien Museum

Ireland

• Dublin - Irish Museum of Modern Art

 

Switzerland

• Basel – Kunstmuseum Basel / Museum für Gegenwartskunst

 

Spain

• Leon - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla MUSAC

 

USA

• Cambridge - MIT List Visual Arts Center
• West Palm Beach - Norton Museum of Art

 

Weblinks

• Kunstaspekte Candida Höfer Exhibition and collection overview.