KNOXVILLE, TN.- The Knoxville Museum of Art hosts a national touring exhibition of photography of acclaimed German photographer Candida Höfer February 22–May 20, 2007. Candida Höfer: Architecture of Absence is the artist’s first American retrospective exhibition. Born in 1944, Höfer creates meticulously composed, oversized images depicting interiors of public and institutional spaces marked by the richness of human activity, yet devoid of human presence. Höfer’s photographs show rooms in public places that are centers of cultural life, such as libraries, museums, theaters, cafes, universities as well as historic houses and palaces. These photographs, some of which are over five feet in height, document Hofer’s dedication to the perplexities and complexities of architectural space.

Höfer is a member of the famous Becher circle, which includes such respected figures as Andreas Gursky, Axel Hütte, Thomas Ruff, and Thomas Struth. Together they dominate world photography today, united by a common vision that finds grandeur in the most unlikely surroundings. All of these well-known photographers studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under the tutelage of renowned professor Bernd Becher.

The Knoxville Museum of Art will host an illustrated talk Friday, February 23 at 2 pm by Höfer expert Constance Glenn of California State University, Long Beach. This event is open to the public and is free with museum admission.

Candida Höfer: Architecture of Absence is co-organized by the University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach, and the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. Support has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal Agency. Additional support has been provided by Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen e. V., Stuttgart.