Herbert Felix Hofer was born in Wiener Neeustadt, Austria in 1946. After studying interior architecture at the University of Vienna he followed this formal education with a brief, but successful career as a window dresser at a large German department store. Hofer then embarked on a search for adventure which took him on extensive travels through Europe and Africa. After his return to Italy and Rome, where he now resides, his friendship with film director, Frederico Fellini introduced him to acting. Hofer has gained international fame from his worldwide exhibitions and has been described by the Austrian Cultural Institute as an artist who manages in his simple way to touch the hearts of nations. The most famous of his works ‘Search for Paradise’ earned him the peace prize of the United Nations, 1984. Hofer’s work has been avidly collected wherever he has exhibited, making up a part of many public and private collections which include those of Fellini, Robert de Niro, Lena Horne and the Pope.