News and Media

Published: Sep 20, 2010

ATLANTA–The SCAD exhibitions department presents “Infinite Moments,” an exhibition of photographs by German-born artist Candida Höfer. Curated by SCAD assistant curator Stephanie Greene, the selected works portray interiors of cultural public spaces such as libraries, museums, theaters and palaces that are infused with Höfer’s masterful orchestration of composition, light and presence. Even though each of the nine works on view is devoid of people, Höfer’s photographs position gallery visitors as the primary audience in each room. In careful compositions that are formally alluring, infinitely detailed and luminous with light, Höfer’s photographs transcend pure documentation and heighten our perceptions of time and space.

In his October 2004 review of her work, New York Times critic Michael Kimmelman noted that Höfer’s “real topic is ambience, a fleeting sensation. Her challenge is to avoid both the dry architectural document and clinical abstraction. When Ms. Höfer’s work succeeds, it implies a secret world. You might say she captures the ghosts moving through these spaces, leaving their traces.”

Candida Höfer was born in Cologne, Germany, and studied photography (1976-82) and film (1973-76) at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Bernd and Hilla Becher.  In 2010, her work was included in solo exhibitions including “Projects Done,” Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla, Spain, and MARCO Museo de Arte Contemporánea de Vigo, Vigo, Spain; “Candida Höfer in Italy, Naples and Florence,” Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong, China; “Philadelphia,” Galerie der Stadt Tuttlingen, Tuttlingen, Germany; and “Zoologische Gärten,” Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, California. Höfer represented Germany at the 2003 Venice Biennale with the late Martin Kippenberger. Her work is in public collections at numerous institutions, including the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York; and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. Höfer lives and works in Cologne, Germany.

SCAD’s presentation of Höfer’s work was organized with the support and collaboration of the Kukje Gallery in Seoul, Korea.  The exhibition and reception, held in conjunction with Atlanta Celebrates Photography, are free and open to the public.

Immediately following the exhibition at the ACA Gallery of SCAD, “Infinite Moments” will travel to SCAD Savannah and be on display at the Pinnacle Gallery, Nov. 17-Dec. 31.

ACA Gallery of SCAD
Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 10-Oct. 29
Reception: Thursday, Oct. 21, 6-7:30 p.m.

Gallery hours:

• Monday, Closed
• Tuesday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Sunday, noon-5 p.m.