In the exhibition “Preparations”, the artist Markus Hofer examines areas of our lives that concern each and every one of us every day, namely food and drink.
A topic that many artists dedicate and have dedicated to in their work, and that is understandable, as hardly anything has as substantial significance for us as our food and its intake.
The creation of a work of art and the preparation of a meal have many things in common.
They are usually different products and raw materials that are transformed into something different in sometimes complex processes.
By combining individual raw materials and using various tools and utensils, often in complex procedures, something new, something of significance is created from the basic products.
There are simple dishes and very elaborate ones, just as there are spontaneously made ones but also works of art that have been created over the years. There are different cooking and art styles, eras, fashions and trends. Rankings and ratings, reviews, comparisons and of course personal preferences.
Markus Hofer has always been interested in the everyday; in his sculptures he often dedicates himself to the things and situations of everyday life. He very often uses objects that come from the household and kitchen areas. Be it a ladle, a plate or a sieve, wine bottles and wine glasses, cutlery and the like.
He alienates these banal and at the same time essential things, reinterprets them, and gives them new attributions. Original functions are often abolished and new interpretations are created.
Both cooking and creating a work of art are about the essence and subtleties of a particular ingredient, about nuances and gradations. What goes together and how and what happens when you mix this with that? Questions that both chefs and artists ask themselves.
Just as you can, want and have to eat again every day, you can literally never get enough of some works of art.
