Candida Höfer. *Archivo General de Indias Sevilla IV 2010.* Courtesy of the artist and the Sean Kelly gallery.

Writer: Sophie Mulgrew

Copy Editor: Chloë Rain

Photo Editor: Haley Winchell

What do you see when you think of heaven on earth? Sunset on a beach? A full church service? A quiet night in a comfortable bed? Renowned architect Toshiko Mori finds heaven in buildings: in the delicate lines and intense structural beauty of great architecture. Presented by the Sean Kelly gallery in New York, Toshiko Mori has curated an exhibition of images by photographer Candida Höfer, entitled Heaven on Earth. This exhibition is a stunning collection of some of Höfer’s best work, with images beautifully showcasing the art of architecture through the use of yet another artform, photography. The exhibit is a wonderful example of the particular beauty in selfless and collaborative artwork.

Candida Höfer. *Benediktinerstift Admont III 2014.* Courtesy of the artist and the Sean Kelly gallery.

Candida Höfer. *Zoologischer Garten London III 1992*. Courtesy of the artist and the Sean Kelly gallery.

Höfer’s photographs are notably understated, including few, or even no figures. Too, the images are minimally staged, allowing the architecture to speak for itself. Each photo is of a standardized size and crop, and showcased in a similar minimalist frame. This simplistic presentation adds to the exhibit’s sublime feeling, as there is a clear intention to refrain from obscuration: to present beauty in its most pure and unembellished form.

Another compelling element of these photographs is their composition. What makes Höfer’s work so captivating is its focus on, and return to, the most basic and fundamental elements of great photography. She takes interest in line, shape, and color, playing with symmetry and asymmetry, with light and shadow. The resulting collection is a masterclass in the fundamentals of photography. Höfer highlights spaces, not through all-encompassing shots, but through particular moments and segments in which the truth of a building and its story is revealed. These photographs are inviting the viewer into the spaces.

Candida Höfer. *Elbphilharmonie Hamburg Herzog & de Meuron Hamburg IV 2016.* Courtesy of the artist and the Sean Kelly gallery.

This technique is perhaps most strikingly embodied in Höfer’s Elbphilharmonie Hamburg Herzog & de Meuron Hamburg IV 2016, a shot of Germany’s Elbphilharmonie Hamburg concert hall. The photograph opts not to highlight the astounding scale of the building, nor its striking cylindrical center or mirrotic exterior. Instead, Höfer captures the gentle curve of a hallway splitting a pattern of circles on what appears to be the building's roof. The muted colors of the exterior glide gently into the nondescript gray of the overcast sky beyond. The camera faces a closed door, behind which the arcs of the rooftop gather in neat points. The viewer’s gaze sweeps across the image, mimicking the curvature of the building itself, and ultimately settling on the door in the center. The impact of this photograph is that it leaves one wondering what lies beyond it and wishing to walk into the very frame of the photo. Höfer’s work is architectural photography at its finest.

Candida Höfer. *Dominikanerkirche Sankt Andreas Düsseldorf II 2011*. Courtesy of the artist and the Sean Kelly gallery.

Candida Höfer. *Hospicio Cabañas Capilla Tolsá from Daniel Buren work in situ Guadalajara I 2015.* Courtesy of the artist and the Sean Kelly gallery.

The exhibit is a testament both to Höfer’s talent as a photographer and to Toshiko Mori’s own talent as a curator. Mori’s intentional choices and sophisticated eye result in a collection that is seamless and streamlined. The images gesture gently towards one another without being overtly related. They each contribute their own distinct element to the idea of sublime spaces. Heaven on Earth is a triumph of every element that goes into the making of an exhibition.