Matthias Hoch/Christian Wachter

Until 24 September 2016 the Fotohof of Salzburg presents “Hotel Kobenzl − Die Geschichte eines Hauses” by Matthias Hoch and through 19 November 2016 “Europe. rêvée, revue, revisited” by Christian Wachter.

“Hotel Kobenzl − Die Geschichte eines Hauses”
The Hotel Kobenzl in Salzburg, located in the hills above the city, is a well-known former luxury hotel. When photographer Matthias Hoch first paid a visit there two years ago with author Andreas Maier, the premises had already stood vacant for eight years. Matthias Hoch has a keen interest in the history of the hotel, the traces of its use, and the question of what was considered luxurious back then. Through the inclusion of archival material, the examination of the hotel takes on a new dimension; the Kobenzl Saga comes to life.

Sampling and seeing and understanding the world is a major concern in Matthias Hoch’s photographic work. And the history of Salzburg’s Hotel Kobenzl is a prime example of the transformation our society is currently undergoing.


“Europe. rêvée, revue, revisited”
In 1992, right after the signing of the Maastricht Treaty and the promulgation of the rules and regulations for the new political union, Austrian fine art photographer Christian Wachter set off in search of the ideas and ideals on which this new Europe would be built. He was influenced in his quest by central European thinkers such as Jacques Rancière, Ferdinand de Saussure and Walter Benjamin.

In the urban layouts and architecture of Parisian squares (but also in Vienna and Italy) he found 'signs' (which according to de Saussure not only re-produce reality, but also actively produce it) for that which has been and that which will come, 'as if looking at the present and the near future from the distant past'.

This series, which Christian Wachter rediscovered, as it were, in his own archive in 2013, features twelve chapters comprising large baryta-coated analogue prints. They have been expanded with historical typefaces to 'achieve a formal anachronism and a structural "dissensus" (Jacques Rancière) in the relationships between the images and the captions'.

Please find more information at Fotohof Salzburg