Evelyn Hofer

New York City

Danziger Gallery currently presents the Estate of Evelyn Hofer and therewith mounts the first large scale retrospective of this important and pioneering photographer.

Evelyn Hofer was born in Marburg, Germany in 1922 and died in 2009 in Mexico City. In the years in between, Hofer created a body of work that both looked back to the tradition of August Sander and anticipated the color work of William Eggleston, causing her to be called „the most famous unknown photographer in America“ by New York Times art critic Hilton Kramer – a devout supporter of her work.

Hofer’s work has influenced such photographers as Thomas Struth, Joel Sternfeld, Adam Bartos, Rineke Dijkstra, Judith Joy Ross, and Alex Soth. Beginning in the early 1960s she became one of the first fine art photographers to adopt the use of color film and the complicated dye transfer printing process as a regular practice. Throughout her long career, Hofer continued to shoot in both color and black and white – determining which was the more apt for the picture at hand. Hofer’s goal was to go beyond documentary photography to create a subjective interpretation of the world, conveying both the spirit of the time and a timeless message. A street photographer of a different stripe, Hofer’s street pictures convey the artist’s concern with sociological connections and offer a pointed look at society and its conditions. Her trades-people and toffs, her families and social groups are more than just intimate portraits – they epitomize the possibilities and restrictions of the human condition.

Danziger Gallery

April 28th – June 22nd, 2012
527 West 23rd Street
New York, New York 10011
USA

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