Harald Stoffers

THE INTIMATE TESTIMONIES OF HARALD STOFFERS REVEAL THE GRAPHIC INNER LIFE OF A NON-STOP CONCEPTUAL ART-MAKER. ADDRESSED TO THE MOTHER WITH WHOM HE STILL SHARES HIS PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP, THESE EDGY ABSTRACTED TEXTS ADAPT THE CONVENTIONS OF LETTER-WRITING INTO A LIFELONG PRACTICE OF TINY PAPER SHAVINGS AND VAST CONFESSIONAL SCROLLS.

THERE EXISTS IN STOFFERS' WORK, AN INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL INTERCHANGE. IT COMBINES STRICT FORMAL PARAMETERS WITH FLUID AESTHETIC DECISIONS. THROUGH REPETITION AND PERMUTATION, THE ARTWORKS LONG TO PERFECT A SYSTEM WHICH ADDRESSES THE ARTIST’S NEEDS TO SPECIFIC CORRESPONDENTS. HOWEVER THE LETTERS THEMSELVES ARE NEVER SENT.

STOFFERS PROVOKES VIEWERS INTO THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE IN A DIFFERENT WAY. TO SEE HIS WORKS, WITHOUT READING OR UNDERSTANDING THEIR MEANING, IS A POETIC AND HYPNOTIC ACT. YET THEIR FORM REFLECTS, AND IS IN FACT DERIVED SPECIFICALLY FROM, THEIR CONTENT. IN OBSERVING HOW THE ARTIST OFTEN CUTS AND PASTES KEY PASSAGES, OR AFFORDS SPACE TO PARTICULAR SENTENCES, OR CRAMS PHRASES TOGETHER UNTIL THEY FORM CLOUDS OF DENSE INKY MASS, THE DISRUPTION OF WHAT WE EXPECT TO UNDERSTAND IS CONSTANT AND DISASSOCIATING. ONLY THE QUESTION IS CLEAR: WITH WHOM IS STOFFERS IS SEEKING TO COMMUNICATE?

STOFFERS HAS MAJOR WORKS INCLUDED IN A NUMBER OF COLLECTIONS, INCLUDING THE SACKNER ARCHIVE OF CONCRETE AND VISUAL POETRY (US), ABCD COLLECTION (FR) AND THE MUSEUM OF EVERYTHING (UK).