Philipp Fürhofer - Hatje Cantz

A wide, symmetrical shot of a modern art gallery with a polished floor and white coffered ceiling. The space is framed by two large, dark classical columns. In the center, a curved, cream-colored balustrade surrounds an opening to a lower level. The back wall is covered by a large, backlit, translucent curtain depicting a monochromatic, stylized palm tree forest.

A table of contents in German, titled Inhalt. The page is white with black text. On the left are page numbers and on the right are the chapter titles. The entries include Vorwort, Philipp Fürhofers Phantominseln, Werke, Der Kleber der Illusion, Werkliste, Chronologie, and Literatur.

A page from a German-language publication, number 27, with a minimalist layout. On a white background, the top left features the title in large, bold text: Philipp Fürhofers Phantominseln, with the subtitle Sehnsuchtsorte zwischen Täuschung und Realität. On the right are three paragraphs of body text. At the bottom left is the name Svenja Grosser in large, bold type.

A two-page spread from an art book in German, with pages numbered 28 and 29. The right-hand page features a black-and-white photograph of a modern art installation in a gallery with dark pillars and white, curved structures.

A composite image showing a large artwork in two ways. On the left, the framed diptych hangs on a white gallery wall. On the right is a close-up of the piece. The artwork is a dark, layered composition depicting a forest scene where a ghostly, white-line drawing of a skeletal rib cage is visible beneath green ferns, mossy stumps, and tangled branches. Below the images is the text Truths Behind and Kat. 2.

A mixed-media artwork on the right side of the frame features black, dripping silhouettes of palm trees against a layered, dark blue background. The word FOREVER is repeated in vertical columns. The foreground shows silhouetted foliage and small, insect-like figures, all set against a large white space on the left.

A square, abstract artwork on the right side of a white page, titled Carbonization. The image is a heavily distorted and fragmented collage of a tropical landscape with palm trees, overlaid with a shattered, mosaic-like texture in shades of blue, pink, and orange, creating a chaotic effect.

A side-by-side view of two contemporary artworks featuring silhouetted trees. The image on the left is a close-up of a painting with black tree branches overlaid with dense, layered graffiti tags against a streaky blue and white background. On the right is a full view of a tall, vertical light box mounted on a wall, illuminating a serene and misty landscape of trees reflected in water.

$A vertical abstract painting on the right against a white background, depicting a landscape shattered into sharp, mosaic-like pieces. The scene transitions from a chaotic turquoise harbor with fragmented boats at the top, down through an earthy, fractured mid-section, and ends with large, snow-covered rocks at the bottom, creating a sense of a broken or deconstructed world.$

An interior shot of a modern art gallery with grey walls and a polished floor. A large, dark, textured column stands in the center, with various artworks hanging on the walls behind it, including a large, illuminated multi-panel piece and a smaller portrait. In the foreground is the edge of a curved white bench or wall.

A two-page spread from an art catalog, pages 100 and 101, featuring an interview in German. Below the text are three images of artworks: two on the left show a gray, warped wall sculpture with a crystalline center, and one on the right shows a mixed-media piece with a screen displaying an abstract blue image.

Philipp Fürhofer

Phantominseln

€ 34.00

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Edited by: Svenja Grosser

Graphic Design: Jakob Straub

Artist: Philipp Fürhofer

Texts by: Philipp Demandt, Philipp Fürhofer, Svenja Grosser, Christine Lemke-Matwey

German

July 2023, 120 Pages, 50 Photos

Hardcover

240mm x 290mm

ISBN: 978-3-7757-5524-5

HATJE CANTZ VERLAG
Mommsenstr. 27
10629 Berlin
Germany
E-Mail: contact@hatjecantz.de

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| Tropical Illusions

Palm leaves, sunsets, forests—at the interface between installation and painting, tropical landscapes by the artist Philipp Fürhofer radiate toward the viewer in light boxes and paintings. However, the romanticism of nature is deceptive: beneath layers of paint bursts, questions regarding the existential, reciprocal influence of humans and nature, of capitalist civilization, and the constant destruction of our living environment are revealed. The catalog accompanies a focused solo exhibition at Frankfurt's Städel Museum. Its centerpiece is a wall-filling, site-specific work, with which Fürhofer enters into a dialog with the architectural and artistic elements of the space. The result is a mystical jungle landscape in which not everything is as it seems. An essay by curator Svenja Grosser and a conversation with the opera critic Christine Lemke-Matwey contextualize the artworks in Fürhofer's practice.

Artist and set designer PHILIPP FÜRHOFER (*1982, Augsburg) is known around the world for pieces that use acrylic glass, mirrors, and light to create highly esthetic, yet subtle effects. His artworks are literally multilayered: they are simultaneously painting, sculpture, and light object. Fürhofer's way of playing with multi-dimensional illusions is also evident in the sets he designed for the Bayreuth Festival or the opera houses of Amsterdam, London, and Copenhagen. The artist lives in Berlin.