David Hoffos

"Visual sleight of hand is not the support of my work, it is the subject." – 2000

David Hoffos is a film, video and installation artist. Using rudimentary technology he creates astonishing 3d illusions within realistic dioramas. He has been referred to as the "rec-room magician".

Hoffos was born in Montreal in 1966 and moved with his family to Calgary in 1977. He attended high school in Sydney, Australia. "When I was growing up I thought that I was having the most mundane, ordinary experience. Looking back I can see the wonders and marvels of my childhood, which was basically all in the suburbs of large cities. (My work) also relates to the influence of Spielberg and Walt Disney....who often presented the suburbs in a marvelous way..." (2001) His years in Lake Bonavista, a suburb of Calgary clearly left an imprint as it is the model for the suburb that often appears in his work.

He received his first camera, a Super 8, from his father at the age of 10. He was instantly hooked on creating moving images; spending considerable time in the basement making film and stop-motion animation. While his goal was to be a film director, he was unable to get into film school. He studied fine arts instead and in 1994 he graduated from the University of Lethbridge, Alberta with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

In 2003 Hoffos launched the first phase of Scenes from the House Dream, a five-year series of linked installations. Using mirrors, TVs, film, and reflections Hoffos creates realistic illusions of moving individuals trapped in miniature "dream" scenes.

Hoffos stretched into the theater realm with the 2006 debut of Hoffos/Clarke Conspiracy, at the High Performance Rodeo, Calgary. Two years later Hoffos completed the stage design for wow&flutter, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Calgary, Alberta.

In 2001 he received the York Wilson Endowment Award, the following year he received second place at the inaugural Sobey Art Awards and in 2007 he was awarded the Images Festival Grand Prize.