Professor Hans Stofer is curious about how people think, why they use what they use and how this forms the premises for shaping attitudes. Up until recently Stofer has explored the impact of object rebirth, the discarded, the repaired, the ready-made and the state of objects when ‘in’ – and ‘not in use’ – as a proposition for reflection.
In times of radical change and the intellectual and emotional challenges that this process demands Stofer has started to think more about the importance of ‘how we regenerate’ in order to cope.
Hans Stofer was born in 1957 and brought up in Switzerland, where he trained as a precision engineer before entering the Zurich School of Art. There he studied jewellery and design. In 1984 he set up his first studio in Zurich. In 1987 he emigrated to England and settled in London where he now works.
Stofer’s thinking is not dissimilar to that of Dada – the irreverent anti-art movement which flourished in the early twentieth century. This irrational spirit in arts, interestingly also born in Zurich, has been the core of his outlook and thinking.
In 2010 Hans Stofer presented a body of work, code-named Walk the Line at Gallery SO in London where ‘Art Meets Design’; curated (with Richard Slee and Freddie Robins as co-curators) Jerwood Contemporary Makers 2010 (touring); took part in Straw Dogs, Spring Project, London; caused chaos at Causing Chaos, Fife Contemporary Art & Craft at St Andrews Museum; and continues to do what he wants to do.