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More than twenty years ago, Harald Stoffers began a fictional correspondence with his mother, in which all the letters started with “Liebe Mutti.” He began this exercise at a workshop for people with disabilities where he worked. He began by distributing them among his fellow workers as small torn notes. Presented in a film by Youssef Tabti at the Grand Palais in 2009, his work was included in institutions as the Mona (Australia), the Hamburger Bahnhof—National Gallery of Contemporary Art (Berlin), the Pinacoteca Agnelli (Turin), Galerie der Villa (Hamburg), l’Oliva Creative Factory (Portugal), le Dox Art Center (Prague), and the Maison rouge (Paris). A significant number of his works were donated to the Centre Pompidou collection in 2021.

harald stoffers - © christian berst — art brut
Date 1961 —
Country Germany

The letters of Harald Stoffers—part writing, part musical score, part pictorial composition—are of a rare intensity, inviting the viewer both to read them and to contemplate them in silent fascination.

Stoffers was born in Hamburg in 1961. He joined a workshop for people with disabilities at the age of twenty-two, and began writing single, or sometimes several, words such as “bell” or “glue gun” on small pieces of paper that he handed out to the people around him. These brief messages eventually expanded into longer letters addressed to his “dear mummy;” the words were placed on meticulously drawn lines reminiscent of musical staves, imbuing them with rhythm and musicality. Stoffers sometimes carefully tore his messages into thin strips that the reader then had to put back together. 

Stoffers’ dense, dancing art, the object of a documentary by Youssef Tabti shown at La Force de l’art 02 (Grand Palais, Paris, 2009), was exhibited at the gallery christian berst art brut in 2009 and at Art Paris and Drawing Now Paris in 2010. It was also presented by the Museum of Everything at the Pinacoteca Agnella in Turin the same year. In 2012, Stoffers was exhibited among other Art Brut artists at the Chalet Society, Exhibition #1 in Paris. Interest in his letters has now spread far beyond the milieu of Art Brut. 

Artworks
Please contact us to inquire about the available works.
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 2017
98.43 x 59.06 in
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 2012
15.75 x 15.75 in
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 2011
19.69 x 27.56 in
Catalog
Harald Stoffers dear mum
Harald Stoffers : dear mum - © christian berst — art brut

Preface : Michel Thévoz
Foreword : Christian Berst
Catalog published to mark the exhibition Harald Stoffers : liebe mutti, from april 24th to june 11th, 2009.

Exhibitions
celestial epics
art brut in the Decharme collection, Villa Médicis. From March 1 to May 19, 2024.
middlegate / middlegate
Geel, Belgium. From September 17 to December 17, 2023.
Interespace exhibition with Harald Stoffers
Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur gGmbH, Berlin, Allemagne. From June 8 to July 7, 2023.
brut frequencies: eco-aesthetic manifesto #1
curator: pascal pique. From April 6 to June 4, 2023.
i love the movement that displaces lines
curator: Léa Bismuth, the bridge. From February 9 to March 19, 2023.
View more
reboot :
history, present and visions, Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur gGmbH, Berlin. From September 15 to October 20, 2022.
do the write thing :
read between the lines #3, main gallery. From April 2 to May 22, 2022.
débordement #1: the pathfinders
by anaël pigeat & yvannoé krüger, the bridge + main gallery. From November 25, 2021 to January 16, 2022.
the new genius,
curator : Pierre Muylle, Cultuurcentrum Mechelen, Belgique . From October 16, 2021 to January 9, 2022.
POCORART
World Exhibition, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo. From July 16 to September 5, 2021.
Yes or notes
curated by Charlélie Couture, the bridge by christian berst. From April 9 to June 13, 2021.
Fiac
#47, cancelled. From October 21 to 25, 2020.
galeristes art fair
at Le Carreau du Temple. From October 18 to 20, 2019.
Ojo electrico
Casa Encendida, Madrid. September 24, 2019.
ART BRUT
La Pinacothèque, Luxembourg. From January 26 to June 15, 2019.
Leben in art brut
coll. Hannah Rieger, Bildraum, Vienna. From July 14 to August 16, 2018.
do the write thing 2
read between the lines, at the gallery. From April 26 to June 2, 2018.
The Museum of everything
Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania. From June 17, 2017 to April 2, 2018.
Art Brut
A Story of Individual Mythologies, Treger Saint Silvestre Collection, Portugal. From January 1 to February 26, 2017.
galeristes
salon des galeries et des collectionneurs engagés , carreau du temple. From December 8 to 11, 2016.
Writescape
Textual Poetry of Art Brut, Entrepot Gallery, Monaco. From July 12 to September 29, 2016.
YIA
art fair, Espace Louise 186, Bruxelles. From April 21 to 24, 2016.
On The Wire
by Jean-Hubert Martin, at the gallery. From April 9 to May 22, 2016.
The Museum Of Everything
Kunsthal, Rotterdam. From March 5 to May 22, 2016.
Du nombril au cosmos
autour de la collection abcd/ Bruno Decharme, Art et Marges museum, Bruxelles. From September 25, 2015 to January 24, 2016.
PreTENse
at the Gallery. From September 12 to October 10, 2015.
Drawing Now 2015
Carreau du Temple, Paris. From March 25 to 29, 2015.
do the write thing
read between the lines, new york gallery. From October 30 to December 21, 2014.
art brut masterpieces and discoveries
carte blanche à bruno decharme, at the gallery. From October 21 to November 29, 2014.
The Wall
Antoine de Galbert Collection , la Maison rouge, Paris. From June 14 to September 21, 2014.
Art brut: breaking the boundaries
curator Christian Berst, Oliva Creative Factory, Sao Joao da Madeira, Portugal. From June 1 to September 11, 2014.
art paris art fair 2014
la chine à l’honneur, grand palais. From March 26 to 30, 2014.
yia art fair
paris. From October 23 to 27, 2013.
beyond the boundaries saison 2013
discoveries and recent acquisitions, at the gallery. From September 7 to October 12, 2013.
drawing now 2012
drawing art fair, Carrousel du Louvre. From March 28 to April 1, 2012.
outsider art fair
From February 11 to 13, 2011.
art paris 2010
From March 18 to 22, 2010.
harald stoffers
liebe mutti / dear Mum, at the gallery. From April 24 to June 11, 2009.
salon du dessin contemporain 2009
From March 19 to 24, 2009.
exhibition view of *débordement #1 : les révélateurs* curated by Anaël Pigeat and Yvannoé Krüger, the bridge + christian berst art brut, Paris, 2021 - © christian berst — art brut
exhibition view of *do the write thing, read between the lines*, christian berst art brut, new york, 2014. - © christian berst at brut, christian berst — art brut
exhibition view of *on the wire*, by jean-hubert martin, christian berst art brut & jean brolly galeries, paris, 2016. - © jean brolly gallery, christian berst — art brut
Exhibition view *Do the write thing #3 , read between the lines *, christian berst art brut, Paris, 2022 - © christian berst — art brut
Press review
« Ces artistes sont des visionnaires » : une des plus grandes collections d’art brut au monde exposée à Rome
Eric Tariant, Connaissance Des Arts. April 24, 2024.
art exhibition / news - pocorart world exhibition
La Rédaction, Geijutsu Shincho. September 1, 2021.
de quoi l’art brut est-il le nom ?
Christian Berst , Artnewspaper édition Française. July 1, 2019.
Une foire pour collectionneurs en herbe
Emmanuelle Lequeux, Le Monde. December 9, 2016.
L’art brut mis en avant à la galerie l’Entrepôt
Monaco Info. July 14, 2016.
View more
Sur le fil
Claire Margat, Art Press N°434. May 20, 2016.
art brut à la galerie Christian Berst
Catherine Vernet, IntériEUrité. January 26, 2015.
Do the Write Thing: Read Between the Lines
Michael Brown, Under-main.com. December 20, 2014.
Phillip March Jones, Dear Mother
Phillip March Jones, Alabama Chahin. December 15, 2014.
Harald Stoffers at Do the Write Thing Christian Berst Art Brut Gallery
Editorial, Boogie Tonight. November 7, 2014.
l’art brut sous les feux des projecteurs
La Rédaction, La Tribune.fr. October 15, 2014.
à l’heure brute
Stéphane Corréard, Libération NEXT. October 11, 2014.
Christian Berst : «L’art brut a toujours existé et il existera toujours»
Dominique Poiret, Libération NEXT. October 2, 2014.
La Valise de Christian Berst
Thierry Paret Et Linda Lorin, Radio Nova. April 15, 2014.
Arte bruta
Richard Treger, Raw Vision. April 11, 2014.
Humains, traits humains
Lorraine Rossignol, Télérama Sortir N° 3328. October 23, 2013.
Beautiful heart
China Visual. February 22, 2011.
They are n°1
Surface. August 20, 2010.
Christian Berst, diamantaire de l'art brut
Vernissages. August 17, 2009.
Harald Stoffers fête sa liebe Mutti
Animula Vagula. May 13, 2009.
Sur Harald Stoffers
Charlie Hebdo. May 6, 2009.
Galerie Objet trouvé
Beaux Arts. March 4, 2009.
Collections
Musée national d’art moderne (Pompidou)
France
collection de l’Art brut
Switzerland
Carmen and Daniel Klein collection
Switzerland
Antoine Frérot collection
France
abcd / Bruno Decharme collection
France
View more
Treger Saint Silvestre collection
Portugal
Antoine de Galbert collection
France
Emmanuelle and Guy Delcourt collection
France
Hervé Lancelin collection
Luxembourg
Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry
United States
collection of Kanransha
Japan
Videos
trailer - débordement #1 : les révélateurs / the pathfinders
video - the exhibition presented by the curators
j’adore le mouvement qui déplace les lignes, commissaire : léa bismuth
j’adore le mouvement qui déplace les lignes exposition du 9 février au 19 mars 2023 the bridge by[…]
Harald Stoffers

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