Michael Höpfner

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Michael Höpfner, “Aufzeichnungen von Sanwei nach Subei”, 2020, Silbergelatine Print, 60,5 x 50,3 cm

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Michael Höpfner, “Aufzeichnungen von Budongquao nach Qumahe”, 2020, Silbergelatine Print, Kreidezeichnung, 60,5 x 50,3 cm

The photographer and conceptual artist Michael Höpfner is regarded as one of the few contemporary exponents of Land Art in Austria. His drawings, diary sketches and, first and foremost, his analogue photographs were created as he hiked and trekked for weeks on end, often in very remote regions of the world such as the high plateaus of Tibet or the valleys of the Alps.

In a slow process the artist then transforms his creative output into wall-mounted auratic artefacts defined by a multi-layered materiality. His artistic approach is a search for mankind’s relationship with nature and characterised by his apprehension of the world as an existential experience.

“His search for minimization is realised first and foremost in his travels to distant countries and regions. In his photographs and installations, not only does he separate the essential from the unimportant ballast, but he also firmly trains his entire focus on that essence as a narrative counterpart. No sentence, no information is too much. All that is useful is stated; all else remains unstated.“ (Carola Leitner)

Biography

Michael Höpfner *1972 in Krems/Donau, Austria; lebt und arbeitet in Wien. Michael Höpfner studierte an der Akademie der Bildenden Künste Malerei und Grafik sowie an der Glasgow School of Art am Department for Fine Art Photography. Er unterrichtet an der Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Wien im Fachbereich Kunst und Fotografie. Seit 1995 Wanderreisen in der Ukraine, Tadschikistan, Kasachstan, Nord-Indien, Nepal, West-China, Südkorea, Senegal, Libyen, Island, Schottland, Albanien, Griechenland, Italien.