This photograph is part of a series Candida Hofer did on St. Petersburg in 2014 in which she captures the splendour of the city and its magnificent buildings. The empty interiors of palaces, opera houses, libraires, museums and theatres are part of the artist’s meticulous and skillful documentation of public spaces which has brought her international prominence. Through her lens Hofer captures mankind’s greatness – extraordinary buildings and architecture associated with cultural memory and history – yet her spaces are always empty of human presence. Here the architecture takes centre stage and the public spaces becomes idealised images. Hofer produces large-format photographs without digital enhancement or alteration, using long exposure and working with the existing light source.
CANDIDA HÖFER (German, 1944))
c-print
Acquired in 2024
