BY Candida Höfer in Interviews | 12 JAN 17

Questionnaire: Candida Höfer

Q. What do you wish you knew? A. There are so many things

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BY Candida Höfer in Interviews | 12 JAN 17

Susanne Bürner, Tree Still (Koriander), 2000, photographic print, 40 x 30 cm. Courtesy: © Susanne Bürner

What images keep you company in the space where you work?

Susanne Bürner: Tree Still (Sage), Tree Still (Coriander) and Tree Still (Chives) (all 2000).

What was the first piece of art that really mattered to you?

It was a work by Man Ray that I saw in an exhibition a very, very long time ago: The Lovers (1936).

If you could live with only one piece of art what would it be?

Hans Peter Feldmann, Wackelbild "Abschied" (1997).

What is your favorite title of an artwork?

The titles that On Kawara used for his works: 'Today Series', 'I met', 'I Got Up', 'I Am Still Alive'.

What do you wish you knew?                     

There are so many things that I constantly encounter of which I do not know anything or do not know enough about but wish to know more. They keep accumulating. The last thing added to that list is Chinese painting ...

What should change?

There is too much work I have to deal with.

What should stay the same?

The amount of work I have to deal with.

What could you imagine doing if you didn't do what you do?

Trying to write romantic novels.

What music are you listening to?

Currently: Grigory Sokolov, The Salzburg Recital (2015).

What are you reading?

Photoshow: Landmark exhibitions that defined the history of photography (2014), edited by Alessandro Mauro, and Afterwork Readings (2016), a joint publication from Para Site, Hong Kong, and KUNCI Cultural Studies, Yogyakarta.

What do you like the look of?

The Rhine river passing in front of my house.

What is art for?                                                      

Art is to remain important in everyday life.

Candida Höfer is an artist who lives and works in Cologne. Her work has been shown in a number of international museums including Kunsthalle Basel; MoMA, New York, the Power Plant, Toronto; Kunsthaus Bregenz; and Museum Ludwig, Cologne. In 2002, she participated in documenta 11, and represented Germany at the Biennale in Venice the following year, together with Martin Kippenberger. Currently, she is the subject of solo exhibitions at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (through 29 January) and Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne (through 4 February). Her solo exhibition at Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City, titled 'In Mexico', opens 4 April. 

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