HÖFER, CANDIDA
1944 Eberswalde

Title: Museum Ludwig Köln XI.
Date: 2001.
Technique: C-print on Fujicolor Crystal Archive Paper.
Depiction Size: 38 x 38cm.
Sheet Size: 50 x 50cm.
Notation: Signed, titled, dated and numbered.
Number: 2/6.
Frame: Framed.


Provenance:
- Kasper König Collection, Berlin (directly from the artist)

The Düsseldorf School of Photography
The German photographer Candida Höfer belongs to the Düsseldorf School of Photography, which was trained at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art by Bernd and Hilla Becher. The artists of this school are characterised by their conceptual strictness and documentary precision. Höfer's oeuvre deals with the absence of people in space in her often large-format photographs. Her detailed works of interiors show places such as libraries, museums, theatres and concert halls, i.e. public spaces that are only given their function by people. Through the absence of people, the focus is placed on the structure and aesthetics of the architecture and design, while Höfer equally captures the sometimes unfamiliar atmosphere.

The Museum Ludwig in transition
In 2001, Höfer photographed the Museum Ludwig in Cologne during a period of real transformation. The colour photograph shows a deserted, modern interior. A large, closed door is visible in the centre, concentrating interest on the space behind it. The floor is covered with masking material. Wooden panels lean against the white walls to the right and left of the door and the ceiling can be seen without its panelling. Pipes, cables and concrete beams are exposed like skeletons. The fact that works of art once occupied the institution can only be deduced from the title. Höfer removes the context from the rooms, thereby creating an exciting view of a seemingly familiar place.

A long-standing collaboration
When the photograph was taken, the museum was in the process of being renovated and modernised. Kasper König was appointed as the new director of the renowned museum in Cologne in 2000. Previously, König had been director of Portikus in Frankfurt am Main, where he exhibited Candida Höfer's colour photographs in 1992. He also presented Höfer's work in the exhibition ''Vor dem Gesetz. Skulpturen der Nachkriegszeit und Räume der Gegenwartskunst (Before the Law. Post-War Sculptures and Spaces of Contemporary Art) at the Museum Ludwig in 2011.