Nikki Moscow, Gallery Associate has selected Candida Höfer's photograph Julia Stoschek Collection Düsseldorf IVA, 2008 for #StaffPicksSaturday.
"As someone who has always felt an intimate connection with architecture, I find myself particularly taken with the work of German photographer Candida Höfer, renowned for her large-scale color images of empty interiors. Viewing her meticulously composed photographs of centuries old libraries, palaces and cathedrals, is both meditative and uplifting, second only to the sensation of exploring a work of great architecture in person.
In contrast to the opulence and elegance of many of Candida’s most notable works, this photograph, Julia Stoschek Collection Düsseldorf IVA, from the series 'From Düsseldorf,' presents a more austere visual and emotional encounter. Rather than being enchanted by the ornate beauty of the interior and its illustrative details, the absence of such distractions in this minimalist corridor has forced me into a sober reflection on the space as a whole – its function within the community it inhabits, its successes, its shortcomings, and our relationship to it as humans.
In this way, Höfer’s work has taken on even deeper meaning during the prolonged period of isolation we find ourselves in today – one defined largely by our physical distance and spiritual detachment from these cherished public spaces that make up the fabric of our urban lives. Thus, the absence of humanity and the circumstances that surround this fact are felt all the more profoundly as I view the work through the lens of the present.
Where I once felt a sense of calm awe and assurance in humanity whilst contemplating these photographs, I now feel a sense of heightened drama, unease, and melancholy. This work encapsulates this inexplicable duality of feelings that have loomed over me during this time, and that we must all reconcile in our attempt to reclaim our once beloved public spaces and relearn how to inhabit our communities."
CANDIDA HÖFER, Julia Stoschek Collection Düsseldorf IVa, 2008, C-print, paper: 78 3/4 x 62 1/4 inches (200 x 158.13 cm), framed: 80 5/16 x 63 13/16 x 1 3/4 inches (204 x 162.1 x 4.4 cm), edition of 6 with 3 APs, CH-7834