German photographer Candida Höfer studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Bernd and Hilla Becher. Her work is widely recognised for its technical perfection and conceptual approach. It is focused on the presentation and structure of space, what we do to space, and what space does to us. Her meticulously composed photographs explore the internal architecture of space, in places such as churches, zoos, opera houses, libraries, and museums. Höfer presents these images on a large scale, which has become a hallmark of her work. In depicting emptiness, Candida Höfer attempts to capture the feeling of loss that someone’s disappearance engenders. On her decision to exclude people from her photographs Höfer has said: “it became apparent to me that what people do in these spaces – and what these spaces do to them – is clearer when no one is present, just as an absent guest is often the subject of a conversation.” The lack of people allows audiences to consider the role played by the missing inhabitants, and further emphasises the architectural details in her photographs. German, b. 1944, Eberswalde Germany, based in Cologne.

Candida Höfer Photography