Siggi Hofer Siggi Hofer

SIGGI HOFER / IM 80.STOCK

Siggi Hofer's large cityscapes are display boards of undefined sprawl areas with small industrial complexes, apartment blocks and open spaces in the style of the seventies, as you can find them in the outskirts of smaller cities and in picture books from that time. The Viennese artist uses these display boards to make mental changes, for example to stagger them with artificial plateaus, to provide them with writing blocks or huge hammers. Hofer, who also appears with models, performances and texts, examines the existential changes that result when elements are isolated or new ideas are brought into familiar worlds (study).
Veit Loers, curator (on the exhibition "From earth more beautiful" 2006, Gallery Kugler, Innsbruck)

City, country, architecture, homeland, individual and community are themes that Siggi Hofer addresses
occupy a lot in his drawings. Siggi Hofer is not interested in town planning or architecture. The landscape remains abstract, a non-place. The artist is more concerned with the process of growth.
Off: Text on the exh. “Profiler“, Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Vienna

The native of South Tyrol in 1970 put his ideas about the use of architectural space on paper in a decidedly idiosyncratic manner. High-rise complexes, housing estates and industrial buildings rise on exposed open spaces in extremely rugged areas. Motorways, bridges and rivers do not always create a connection from one junction to another, sometimes break off and lead into the depths of gaping gorges. From a bird's eye view and with obsessive attention to detail, Hofer designs his bizarre, utopian concepts of conquering space. He inserts blocks of text that scream "Ende", "King Kong" or "Bang" as compositional breaks and thus reveals the narrative potential of his works. Hofer does not only know how to transform our conception of built-up surroundings in his graphic work. He also appeals to our conventional concepts of space and order with font installations made from pressboard. As a video shows, the artist becomes a pop star with a beers-of-the-air. And he also has an impressive collection of Milva records. Photos from childhood and youth as well as yoghurt pots piled up to form skyscrapers are further set pieces of this well-choreographed show, which should not only be popular with the employees of the building holding company. Manisha Jothady

SIGGI HOFER

1970 born in Bruneck, Italy
1990-1992 Master School for Painting, Graz (Gerhard Lojen)
1993-1998 University of Applied Arts, Vienna, master class Mario Terzic
2000 Foundation of the artist group RAIN
2001-05 lecturer at the Technical University (Art as Architectural Practice), Vienna, numerous video projects from 2001
Lives and works in Vienna

Exhibitions (selection)

2006 
Artist Spotlights; Microsoft Art Collection, Redmond USA
Genuine Happiness; galerie kunstbuero, Wien (Bet.)
Der Schuh in der Kunst; Galerie im Traklhaus, Salzburg (Bet.)
Sammlungen der Angewandten, Heiligenkreuzer-Hof, Wien (Bet.)
Von Erde schöner; Galerie Kugler, Innsbruck (Bet.)

2005
Voglio spazio per crescere; galerie kunstbuero/Kunsthalle8, Wien
Weit und breit kein Ende; Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich
Profiler; Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Wien (Bet)
Ne travaillez jamais ; Am Mayerhof, Waldhausen NÖ (Bet.)
*in Südtirol, lebt in Wien; Walterhaus, Bozen (Bet.)

2004 
Wiener Linien; Wien Museum, Wien (Bet.); Panorama 03, Bozen (Bet.)

2003  
My life is your life; kuratiert von B+B, Österreichisches Kulturforum, London

2002  
Ohne Harmonie/Without Harmony; galerie kunstbuero, Wien 
Twothousendandtwo miles; galeria raster, Warschau

2001 
Apartmenthouses; Galerie 5020, Salzburg

2000 
Ausstellung No 5; Sägehalle Feistritzwald, Steiermark

1999 
Als ich im Hotel ankam; galerie kunstbuero, Wien

Awards / Scholarships

2005 Treibholz; Kunst im öffentlichen Raum, Wallsee, NÖ
2004 Staatsstipendium des BKA Österreich
2003 SCA-Kunstwettbewerb, 3. Preis (Ausst.)
2000 Schindlerstipendium, L.A.
1999 RBB Kunstwettbewerb, Graz
        17. Römerquelle Kunstwettbewerb, Graz, Klagenfurt, Wien
1993 Künstlerpreis; Plakataktion Kunst auf Zeit, Gruppe 77, Graz

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