| | | | | | | | Evelyn Hofer, Queensboro Bridge, New York, 1964
© Evelyn Hofer Estate, Courtesy Galerie m, Bochum | | | | | | Encounters | | | | 29 February – 24 May, 2020 | | | | Opening: Friday, 28 February, 6pm | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Evelyn Hofer, Alma und Silvia Giovanoli, Soglio, 1991
© Evelyn Hofer Estate, Courtesy Galerie m, Bochum | | | | | | The Fotostiftung Schweiz is presenting a comprehensive exhibition of the works of Evelyn Hofer (1922–2009), whom the New York Times hailed as "America’s most famous 'unknown' photographer". Her commissions for magazines as well as her independent projects are multifaceted and colourful. They give us a glimpse into the private rooms of world-famous artists such as Andy Warhol and Marlene Dietrich. They present fascinatingportraits of cities in transition and social studies of forgotten areas. Hofer had already begun using colour photography in the 1950s, reaching an almost unrivalled level of expressiveness even before pioneers like William Eggleston established it as a form of artistic expression. With her large-format camera, she focused on the essential and crafted painterly photographs whose timeless nature continues to impress to this day.
But it is Switzerland that plays an important role in her work as a place of yearning and as her adopted home. Every summer, the German-American photographer returned to Bergell, where she created an extensive series of portraits. The exhibition provides the opportunity to rediscover Evelyn Hofer as a photographic pioneer. Capturing the spirit of the burgeoning economic miracle of the post-war era, Evelyn Hofer created iconic images. Landscapes, architectural views, interiors, still lifes and, again and again, portraits – the independent artist has left us a photographic kaleidoscope spanning almost half a century. The exhibition at the Fotostiftung Schweiz brings together 120 of Evelyn Hofer’s diverse works. The city portraits in book form, essayistic photo spreads for magazines and her independent works are shown side by side. We accompany Evelyn Hofer on her forays through Washington and New York, embark on a journey with her to a Welsh village, visit wellknown artists in their studios – and gaze in wonder: the photographer always approaches her subjects with the same curiosity and openness. This panoply of images in fine shades of grey and strong colours touches us with the warmth with which Evelyn Hofer captured moments for all eternity.
And yet her oeuvre exhibits an extraordinary consistency. Her photographs condense people and objects down to their essence, carefully composed and yet captivating. Hofer’s straightforward style is not beholden to any faddish trends and hardly changed over the decades. While contemporaries such as Robert Frank or Helen Levitt opted for a subjective approach using snapshot-like images, her photographs are intricately constructed and painterly. | | | | | | | | | Evelyn Hofer, Bowery, New York, 1965
© Evelyn Hofer Estate, Courtesy Galerie m, Bochum | | | | | | | For all her life, Evelyn Hofer was an artist without a home. Born into a wealthy family in Marburg in 1922, she moved to the Val Fex in the Upper Engadine in 1927. In 1933, after Hitler came to power, she relinquished German citizenship. The family spent several years in Madrid, but when the Spanish Civil War broke out, Evelyn Hofer and her sister returned to the Engadine. During her time in Switzerland, shortly before her 20th birthday, she began an apprenticeship as a photographer at Studio Bettina in Zurich and took private lessons with the photographers Hans Finsler and Robert Spreng, influential representatives of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement. The father, who had emigrated to Mexico in the interim, had his family join him in 1942. Evelyn Hofer adopted Mexican citizenship and received her first commissions for fashion magazines. These photographs drew mixed reactions. 1946 she moved to New York and began working as a freelance photographer for magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. New York was to remain her place of work and residence until old age, but the big city never became a real home. Throughout her life, she maintained a close relationship with Switzerland. In 2005, Evelyn Hofer moved to her sister in Mexico City, where she died in 2009. | | | | | | | | | Evelyn Hofer, Hommage à Zurbarán (Still Life No. 6), New York, 1997
© Evelyn Hofer Estate, Courtesy Galerie m, Bochum | | | | | | In cooperation with Galerie m, Bochum and the Evelyn Hofer Estate, Munich.
Catalogue
"Evelyn Hofer, Begegnungen / Encounters", edited by Susanne Breidenbach, Steidl Verlag, 280 pages, 190 illustrations, cloth binding, English / German. Available at bookshops for CHF 75, or at the shop of the Fotozentrum for CHF 65 for the duration of the exhibition.
Special events
Sunday 22 March, 11:30 am
Tour and dialogue: Madleina Deplazes in conversation with Andreas Pauly, long-time assistant to Evelyn Hofer.
Sunday, 5 April, 11:30 am
Tour and dialogue: Madleina Deplazes in conversation with Julia Sonnenfeld, art historian | | | | | | | | | Evelyn Hofer, Andy Warhol, New York, 1980
© Evelyn Hofer Estate, Courtesy Galerie m, Bochum | | | | | | unsubscribe here
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