BERLIN, GERMANY.- Camera Work presents: Josef Hoflehner - Photographs. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Gallery Camera Work, the gallery is exclusively presenting four icons of the photography world: Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Peter Lindbergh and Diane Arbus. Next to its current Peter Lindbergh exhibition it is additionally presenting selected photographs by the Austrian Josef Hoflehner from August 11 to October 06 2007.

Josef Hoflehner, born 1955 in Austria, is at the same time photographer and documentalist. His black and white photographs – still lifes and images of architecture and landscape – stand for themselves; they are not bound to any narrative content. With only few elements and a fascinating formal strictness Hoflehner has for example created images of snow landscapes and coast lines with an impressively deliberate picture composition. Through reduction of forms and partly long exposure times Hoflehner creates particularly calm photographs. The warm duo tone of the selenium sepia prints contributes to the extraordinary aura of stillness.

The most recent destinations of Hoflehner's voyages were the southern part of the United States (“Deep South”) and Vietnam. Beforehand he travelled to China, Iceland and Yemen, just to name a few. The wonderful photographs that he produced during these trips will be exhibited in the sideshow.

Hoflehner's photographs of China radiate the almost hypnotising calmness that is so characteristic for him; no matter if they show landscapes or skylines. On his images shot in Iceland Hoflehner illustrates in a fascinating way how he achieves to make the ocean delude in a glassy surface by cultivating the art of long time exposure. He makes use of nightfall or dark clouds to create an almost mystical atmosphere.

From his trip to Yemen Hoflehner returned once again with impressive images showing a sensitive portrait of this sandy and empty country and its inhabitants. In the Antarctica Hoflehner captured with his camera requisites from three simple wooden huts prefabricated in England; they served the polar pioneers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton as base camps for their expeditions in the beginning of the 20th century. Today these huts are a protected cultural monument. Hoflehner and his daughter Katharina documented the objects which the participants of the expeditions left there 100 years ago and which were conserved through ice and snow ever since: furniture, tools, provisions and personal belongings.

The photographers worked for this series called “Frozen History” exclusively with natural light and long exposure times. This lends the scenery a kind of cinematic character. The black and white photographs appear to be shot in the beginning of the 20th century. It seems like the kitchen utensils, cloths and tooth brushes were just laid aside. However, it is obvious that time has passed by and left its traces. The often minimal depths of field arises the feeling that the objects just stepped out of a fog of the past only to disappear in it once again.

Josef Hoflehner received several awards for his pictures such as the International Photography Award 2006 as well as the German Photo Book Price in 2005 and 2006. Besides the exhibition in the gallery Camera Work in Berlin the photographer will show his pictures in galleries in London and Los Angeles this year.

Attached you find several photographs which may be used for press purpose. Please pay careful attention to the correct usage of the title and credit. In addition, the artist has stipulated that the provided photographs should in no way be altered or cut. The artist will be present at the opening and is disposable for interviews. It would be an honour for us to welcome you to the exhibition in our gallery.