ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Candida Höfer's Berlin exhibition marks a digital shift and revisits early social documentary work

exhibition · 2026-04-20

Candida Höfer's exhibition titled 'Nach Berlin' at the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in Berlin runs from 3 December 2016 to 29 January 2017, representing a departure from her traditional large-format interior photography. This showcase includes her inaugural digital pieces, 'Memories 2016' and 'Berlin 2016', which present subtle architectural details through digital slide projections. This approach echoes her 1979 series 'Türken in Deutschland 1979', which captured Turkish migrant workers in cities such as Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg. A former pupil of Bernd and Hilla Becher, Höfer began with public spaces before evolving into expansive interiors. The exhibition juxtaposes historical themes of assimilation with the modern landscape of Berlin, while the slide format highlights the rise of digital imagery. A review was published in ArtReview in March 2017.

Key facts

  • Candida Höfer's exhibition 'Nach Berlin' ran from 3 December 2016 to 29 January 2017 at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in Berlin
  • The show includes her first digital photography works, 'Memories 2016' and 'Berlin 2016', presented as slide projections
  • Höfer revisited her 1979 series 'Türken in Deutschland 1979', featuring 80 projected images of Turkish migrant workers in German cities
  • She is a former student of German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, alongside acolytes like Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, and Andreas Gursky
  • Her early work focused on public spaces in the 1980s before shifting to grand interiors and large-scale prints
  • The exhibition contrasts low-key digital street views with her earlier opulent interior photography
  • The 1979 series documents assimilation in Germany through scenes without religious identifiers or dual-language signage
  • The review was published in the March 2017 issue of ArtReview

Entities

Artists

  • Candida Höfer
  • Bernd Becher
  • Hilla Becher
  • Thomas Ruff
  • Thomas Struth
  • Andreas Gursky
  • Hito Steyerl

Institutions

  • Neuer Berliner Kunstverein
  • ArtReview

Locations

  • Berlin
  • Germany
  • Cologne
  • Hamburg

Sources