July 10 – December 18, 2022
View at: www.art.org
Born at the end of the Second World War, Josef Hofer grew up in Upper Austria’s Mühlviertel region. Having lived with multiple disabilities since early childhood, Hofer can only communicate using sign language and a handful of words. Nevertheless, since the 1990s he has produced a multifaceted oeuvre comprising 2,000 drawings. The exhibition Josef Hofer – A Life’s Work presents the first ever representative overview of this stunning collection of works.
IX, Josef Hofer, 2005. Pencil and coloured pencils on paper, 42 x 29.7 cm
Hofer created his drawings in a slow and concentrated process during which he would fall into a trance-like state and forget about everything happening around him. First he would depict his chosen motif and then he would begin meticulously filling the surrounding space with intricate patterns to create a frame. For his drawings he often used only pencil and several shades of orange and yellow.
V, Josef Hofer, 2004. Pencil and coloured pencils on paper, 51 x 73 cm
Hofer’s works have rarely been exhibited. Now, Kunstmuseum Thurgau has been fortunate enough to draw upon a private collection of over 250 works by Josef Hofer for this exhibition, presenting a comprehensive overview of this outsider artist’s extraordinary oeuvre.
