Hofer's exhibit will consist of mostly large-scale color photographs describing a selection of public buildings such as hotels, libraries, museums, and palaces in Dublin, Paris, Prague, and Venice. Mary Kay Lombino describes the work as follows: ''Like dioramas in a natural history museum... Hofer's photographs offer views into closed systems disclosing a great deal about the culture of those who inhabit them... Collectively, Hofer's photographs offer a subliminal psychological and sociological study of Western civilization, in effect serving as meditations on human behavior.''.
From February 24th through April 2nd, the Rena Bransten Gallery will present an exhibition of photographs by German artist, Candida Höfer.
Höfer's exhibit will consist of mostly large-scale color photographs describing a selection of public buildings such as hotels, libraries, museums, and palaces in Dublin, Paris, Prague, and Venice. In her essay for Höfer's traveling exhibit, Mary Kay Lombino describes the work as follows:
"Like dioramas in a natural history museum...Höfer's photographs offer views into closed systems---immaculately contained and exquisitely composed---disclosing a great deal about the culture of those who inhabit them. Her works go beyond mere typological investigations, revealing themselves as quiet tributes to spaces defined by the everyday activities of the people who occupy them, and the systems of knowledge these sites contain. Collectively, Höfer's photographs offer a subliminal psychological and sociological study of Western civilization, in effect serving as meditations on human behavior."
Höfer was included in Documenta 11 in Kassel, Germany in 2002 and she represented Germany in the 2003 Venice Biennale. In 2005, she has several exhibits happening concurrently. One, co-organized by the Norton Museum of Art and the University Art Museum, Cal State U, Long Beach that will travel, is "Candida Höfer: Architecture of Absence" with a corresponding book published by Aperture. Another exhibit opens in January at the Sheldon Art Galleries in St. Louis, MO.
Reception: Thursday, February 24, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Rena Bransten Gallery
77 Geary Street
San Francisco
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 10:30 to 5:30 and Saturdays 11:00 to 5:00.