Lot 691 | Candida Höfer | Neues Museum Berlin IX 2009

HÖFER, CANDIDA
1944 Eberswalde

Title: Neues Museum Berlin IX 2009.
Date: 2009.
Technique: C-print.
Depiction Size: 199,5 x 140cm.
Sheet Size: 219,5 x 160cm.
Notation: Signed on label verso and typographically titled, dated and numbered.
Number: A.P I.
Frame: Artist's frame. Not examined out of the frame.

Provenance:
- Private collection North Rhine-Westphalia

- Part of the coveted 'Neues Museum Berlin' series in Höfer's characteristic aesthetic
- The icon of photography shows Nefertiti, the icon of beauty
- Culture of remembrance in harmonious elegance

Candida Höfer's large-format photographs of deserted, often historically significant interiors fascinate with their strict composition, clear symmetry and subtle lighting.
The work presented here, 'Neues Museum Berlin IX 2009', is part of her well-known series on the Neues Museum in Berlin, which was reopened in 2009 following extensive restoration work by David Chipperfield. Höfer documents the rooms in their characteristic aesthetic - with a deep sense of architecture, spatial effect and history.
Höfer's works are more than just architectural photography - they reflect questions about cultural memory, the function of spaces and their aesthetic and historical significance. Through the absence of people, she draws attention to the structure and atmosphere of the places themselves, giving her photographs an almost meditative effect. Her unique view of public and institutional spaces makes her one of the central figures of contemporary photography.
Höfer's way of working is characterised by her precise play with perspective, light and spatial depth. Her photographs are usually taken in natural light and with long exposure times, resulting in a particular clarity and subtlety in the details. The interplay between light and shadow lends the photographs an almost painterly quality and reinforces the iconographic effect of the spaces depicted.
Höfer has photographed numerous important cultural institutions around the world, including libraries, museums, opera houses and palaces. Her works are represented in renowned collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London and the Kunstmuseum Basel. The series on the Neues Museum Berlin is part of this impressive oeuvre and exemplifies her artistic signature.