The wonderment of Marietta Hoferer’s work lies in its simultaneous consistency and divergence. On one hand, it is assuring to spot the quintessential Hoferer: the drawings are symmetrical, shimmering, subtly monochromatic and consistent in the scale of their geometric elements. On the other hand, her works reveal definitive choices of tape size and nuance of color to achieve harmonious visual compositions with a near infinite range of pattern and luminosity. To confront her actual drawings is to experience an amazing alliance of craftsmanship and creativity.

Marietta Hoferer’s current works on paper have as their ultimate Western precedent the innovative collages by Picasso and Braque including Picasso’s seminal Still Life with Chair Caning from 1912. Unknown from 2000-01, with its plotted pencil lines and strapping tape, echoes the patterned caning employed by Picasso, but it does not make direct allusions to the trappings of material experience. Hoferer’s paucity of material choice as well as subtle color shifts and the implementation of grids and series, broadly categorizes her work as post-minimalist, a movement traceable to Eva Hesse, Richard Tuttle and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, among others. However, for some observers, the dazzling visual effects of Hoferer’s work conjure up the complex patterns of the Op Art practitioners including Victor Vasarely, Richard Anuskewicz and Bridget Riley. While the German-born Hoferer shares formal traits and visual goals with these two seminal movements, her work moves beyond a well-formed composition to reveal carefully rendered, freely hung, warm, fragile, tactile drawings.

Moving beyond art historical terms, Hoferer’s recent pieces conjure the intricate patterns and rich surfaces often praised in petit point, Islamic tiles, Roman mosaics, table cloths, wallpaper, basketry and even snowflakes. In C-11, the work’s surface reaches a level of craftsmanship that is unprecedented among the rare artists who work only on paper. Despite the numerous aforementioned references, Hoferer’s collages remain wholly original and aesthetically inspirational. With no utilitarian purpose, they serve as vehicles to investigate the infinite realms of pattern and light.

Brian Young, Curator
Academy Art Museum
Easton, MD