ART CITIES:Mexico City-Candida Höfer

Candida Höfer began taking color photographs of interiors of public buildings, such as offices, banks, and waiting rooms, in 1979 while studying in Düsseldorf. Höfer specialises in large-format photographs of empty interiors and social spaces that capture the “Psychology of social architecture”. Her photographs are taken from a classic straight-on frontal angle or seek a diagonal in the composition.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Galería OMR Archive

For the exhibition “In Mexiko” Candida Höfer visited the country in October 2015, photographing several iconic buildings in the states of Mexico City, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Puebla, Oaxaca and the State of Mexico, the project generated an important exchange for Höfer, who for the past 40 years has photographed the interior of numerous international venues including the Louvre, The Uffizi Gallery and the Hermitage. Yet the artist does not consider herself to be an architectural photographer. In her words “An absent visitor is frequently the topic of conversation”. In addition to photographing empty theatres, libraries, palaces and churches, with each providing insight into various sociohistorical contexts, a significant body of work is “Projects: Done”, 14 series of photographs from 1968 to 2008 in which subjects range from the City of Liverpool to Turkish immigrants in Germany. Addressing the consequence of displacement and specifically absence, the artist can be seen as anthropologist. In this way Höfer´s practice reveals cross-cultural connections through mutual elements of symmetry, light and vacant space. The images exhibited as part of “In Mexiko” are distinctly Mexican whilst foreign influences are also apparent, for example the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes on the stage curtain of the Palacio de las Bellas Artes, designed by American brand Tiffany. Yet not one element exceeds the other and instead commonly identified sensations take precedence. Whether it is the palpable richness of the velvet curtains at Teatro Juárez, Guanajuato, or the smaller photographs of backstage doorways and staircases, these works visually bridge public and private space, regardless of nationality.

Info: Galería OMR, Córdoba 100, Roma Norte, Mexico City, Duration: 23/9-5/11/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Thu 10:00-14:30 & 15:30-19:00, Fri 1:00-16:00, Sat 11:00-16:00, http://galeriaomr.com