The work of German-American photographer Evelyn Hofer (1922-2009) is characterized by her
single-minded creative drive and dedication to recording the essentials of her subjects. Hofer
portraits her vis-à-vis-not only people but also landscapes and interiors-well beyond the idea
of the snapshot and with great clarity and atmospheric intensity. Hofer spent months in the
cities she photographed for her books of the 1950s and '60s published with renowned authors
such as Mary McCarthy and V. S. Pritchett. In titles such as New York Proclaimed (1965) and
Dublin A Portrait (1967) Hofer combines portraits city and country views still lifes and
larger interior shots to manifest complex images of these metropolises. From this starting
point Begegnungen Encounters explores the multifaceted idea of the "portrait" throughout
Hofer's oeuvre-be it in series on New York Dublin and Washington images of artists and their
ateliers selected photo-essays for magazines her extensive projects "People of Soglio" and
"Basque People" as well as till now unseen New York photos of Marlene Dietrich's hangar and
Andy Warhol's Factory.
