Candida Höfer, the acclaimed German photographer based in Cologne, is the subject of the solo exhibition Candida Höfer: Liechtenstein at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz. The exhibition presents a selection of new works by Höfer, created in Liechtenstein throughout the fall and winter of 2021. The artist has previously created a number of site-specific works across cities such as Brussels or Düsseldorf; her most recent group of works created in and for Liechtenstein lies within a similar oeuvre. For most of the works currently on view, Höfer used a large format digital camera to photograph her subjects, which are the interior and exterior structures of museums or libraries that serve a range of cultural purposes.

Höfer’s photographs are juxtaposed with selected works from two collections of the museum, creating dialogue about surfaces and materiality, geometric shapes and abstraction found in artworks from different genres and periods—ranging from classical modernism to present day. Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein und Hilti Art Foundation Vaduz I 2021, capturing the exteriors of the two buildings, inspires discourse on surfaces and materiality by being displayed alongside works by Edith Dekyndt, Bill Bollinger, and Gotthard Graubner. The exhibition allows visitors to experience Höfer’s photographs from a refreshing perspective, by presenting them within an unfamiliar context featuring other works.

Characteristic of Höfer’s oeuvre is an objective, minimalist visual idiom, a pronounced interest in structures and orders of space, followed by remarkable attention to detail. To create her images, she makes use of the light available at the various locations and spaces, avoiding using any spotlights for illumination. Carefully planned and precisely executed, the artist’s photographs are the opposite of snapshots. The subject matter bespeaks human presence and influence, even when human presence is absent in most of the spaces captured by the artist.