Sandra Maier Visual Artist & Photographer

Sandra Maier (b. 1988, Liechtenstein) is a visual artist and photographer whose conceptually driven practice is grounded in sociocultural research and an ongoing exploration of identity, memory and human presence.

She is the creator and founder of Visual Biographies (Bildbiografien), a distinct artistic concept she originated and developed as a new approach to portraiture. Each Visual Biography seeks to give visual form to the being of a person within a single portrait.

Developed through close dialogue, attentive observation and artistic research, each work brings together biography, presence and lived experience. Rather than recounting a life or depicting outward appearance alone, the portrait reveals what lies beneath social roles, familiar surroundings and personal context.

Working predominantly in black and white, Maier explores how identity is shaped by social structures, places and objects. Her practice is guided by a recurring question: What remains when a person is freed from context? Their essence

Her international projects include Obsidian Observations (Armenia, 2023), which examines how value is attributed within societies under strain. For the Council of Europe project Being Young in Europe (2023–24), she portrayed members of Generation Z across four countries, bringing individual experiences into dialogue with broader social realities.

Maier’s methodology combines sociocultural research, ethnographic interviews and experimental photographic techniques. Her works move between documentation and conceptual interpretation, transforming complex personal and social realities into quiet, concentrated images. Intimate in origin yet universal in resonance, they invite reflection on what shapes a person—and what remains at their core.

Artistic Practice

2024–present Visual Biographies (Bildbiografien) Development of a conceptually driven approach to portraiture exploring identity, memory and human presence.

Selected Exhibitions

2026 Begegnungen, with Carol Wyss and Hanna Röckle, Galerie Le Claire Kunst, Hamburg, Germany (group)
2025 Pause to Continue, L’ANDART 25, 6th International Biennial, Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra (group)
2024 Your Shame Not Mine, 27 Zinnober, Hannover, Germany (group)
2024 Obsidian Observations, Visarte Liechtenstein Triennial, Alter Pfarrhof, Balzers, Liechtenstein (group)
2024 Not a Woman’s Job? Changing Faces of Science and Tech, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland (group)
2024 Surfaces, Satellites of Art, CSIO, St. Gallen, Switzerland (group)
2024 Your Shame Not Mine, Kunstkiosk, Schaufensterkunst, Schaan, Liechtenstein (group)
2024 ASSITEJ Poster on Children’s Right to Art and Culture, Vaduz, Liechtenstein (solo)
2024 Being Young in Europe, Liechtenstein Presidency of the Council of Europe, Domus, Schaan, Liechtenstein (solo)
2023 Obsidian Observations, Yerevan Biennial Art Foundation, Yerevan, Armenia (duo)
2023 Your Shame Not Mine, with Barbara Bühler, Schaufensterkunst, Schaan, Liechtenstein (duo)
2023 Your Shame Not Mine, with Sirin Anoush, Schaufensterkunst, Schaan, Liechtenstein (duo)
2021 Fair Session, Soul City, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
2019 Menschsein: Von Liechtenstein bis zum persischen Golf, Gustav, Vaduz, Liechtenstein (solo)
2015 Familienlounge, Grabs Hospital, Grabs, Switzerland (solo)
2015 Lanka Help, Sri Lanka Charity, Schlösslekeller, Vaduz, Liechtenstein (solo)

Public Collection

2023 Yerevan Biennial Art Foundation, Yerevan, Armenia

Work in Public Space

2015 Familienlounge, Grabs Hospital, Grabs, Switzerland

Artist Residencies

2023 Yerevan Biennial Art Foundation, Yerevan, Armenia
2016 Daheer Art Residency, Hormuz Island, Iran

Selected Publications and Press

2026 “Hamburg wird zur Bühne von drei Liechtensteiner Künstlerinnen,” Medienhaus, Liechtenstein
2025 “Einblick in die Landart in Andorra,” KuL, Liechtenstein
2025 “FL Künstler:innen bei der 6. Biennale in Andorra,” Medienhaus, Liechtenstein
2024 “Die geballte Schaffenskraft präsentiert,” Medienhaus, Liechtenstein
2024 “Erstehung des Wertes,” Visarte Liechtenstein Triennial publication
2024 “UNO-Fotoausstellung: Zwei FL-Wissenschaftlerinnen dabei,” Medienhaus, Liechtenstein
2024 “Ein Plädoyer für kindliche Kreativität,” Medienhaus, Liechtenstein
2024 “Reichtum heisst nicht, dass das Leben automatisch besser ist,” Medienhaus, Liechtenstein
2024 “Generation Z – Eine Generation zwischen Angst und Hoffnung,” Zeitschrift für Kultur und Gesellschaft, Austria
2023 “Welches Land soll Liechtenstein sein oder werden,” Zeitschrift für Kultur und Gesellschaft, Austria
2023 “Entwürfe: Liechtenstein erzählen – Das Vorzeigeland,” publication, Liechtenstein
2023 “Fair Photo Sessions,” Fairbessern, Liechtenstein
2022 “Authentizität spielt für mich eine wichtige Rolle,” Medienhaus, Liechtenstein
2012 “Das Leben mit der Kamera begleiten,” Liechtensteiner Volksblatt, Liechtenstein

Selected Published Photography

2021–2026 Exhibition views and artist portraits published in Artforum International, KUNSTFORUM International, Kunstbulletin, PARNASS Kunstmagazin, Saiten, CLICK Kunst, artmagazine.cc and e-flux.

Selected Talks and Interviews

2024 Being Young in Europe, address to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Domus, Schaan, Liechtenstein
2024 Wert und Wertschätzung der Kunst, panel discussion, Radio L, Engländerbau, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
2024 Being Young in Europe, television interview, 1FLTV, Liechtenstein
2023 Kunst als Selbstermächtigung, panel discussion, Schaufensterkunst, Liechtenstein
2022 Fair Sessions, live conversation with Reto Möhr, Liechtenstein
2020 Lebensformen der Freiheit und Selbstbestimmung, live conversation with Reto Möhr, Liechtenstein

Selected Professional Engagements

2023–2026 Board Member, Visarte Liechtenstein
2023–2026 Co-Founder and Board Member, Studio Total, Liechtenstein
2017–present Freelance Photographer, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
2012–present Founder, Visual Artist and Photographer, maier.editions, Liechtenstein

Education

2006–2009 Photography, School of Design, St. Gallen, Switzerland
2008 Workshops and Seminars, Centralverband Deutscher Berufsfotografen, Hannover, Germany
2007 Workshops and Seminars, Centralverband Deutscher Berufsfotografen, Rust, Germany