PATRICIA VON AH

VISUAL MEDIA ARTIST, PHOTOGRAPHER, FILMMAKER, RESEARCHER

Patricia von Ah is internationally recognised as an artist, photographer, filmmaker. She is also an active researcher and founder of SEETHINK Lab, dedicated to the investigation of what we see, and once we see it, how it influences us. Her research explores singular moments within the evolution of the photographic image and the influence of experience for seers and thinkers of today and tomorrow.

Patricia received her bachelor’s degree from the ArtCenter College of Design and her Master of Arts in Visual Communication and Iconic Research from the University of Art and Design Basel FHNW, Switzerland. Her artistic practice is both commercial and creative in nature, reflecting her deep curiosity about the world around us.

Throughout her career, Patricia’s approach is one of intuition. She values the process of collaboration, sharing practices of discovery that lead to unexpected results. Patricia’s work seamlessly integrates photography and film, working cross-media with a variety of analogue and digital formats. Her photographic portraits and documentary films demonstrate a genuine personal connection and sensitivity to the subject while creating a visual language that performs across multiple communication platforms.

Exhibiting internationally; Patricia’s early analogue photography was first presented at Sotheby’s, both in London and New York. She has participated as one of fourteen of the world’s most renowned female fashion and portrait photographers in the Elton John Aids Foundation charity project 4 INCHES with Jimmy Choo & Cartier. She has been featured photographer on both America’s and Germany’s Next Top Model. Her celebrity portraits of such luminaries as Yoko Ono, Dennis Hopper and John Travolta and her prestigious clientele from Fondation Beyeler to Swiss Wine, demonstrate the diversity of her portfolio, highlighting her range in technical competency and creative expression.

MY ASSOCIATED SITES

MEMBER OF

Association Photoforum Pasquart Board Member

 

SELECTED SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS

FARBRAUM – group exhibition, Schweizerischen Nationalbibliothek, Bern, Nov–Jan 2025
RED, GREEN AND BLUE – collaboration exhibition, Galerie Agènor, Zurich, Sept 2022
THE WHY – group exhibition, Gulla Jónsdóttir Atelier, La Peer Hotel, Los Angeles, Dec–Jan 2020
VOLO – collaboration exhibition, Building Bridges Art Exchange, Los Angeles, Dec–Feb 2019
BRICK/GRIT – group exhibition, Bestor Architecture, Los Angeles, Dec 2018
QUIET PLACE – group exhibition, Secrets, Kunsthalle, Bern, Nov 2015
C&J – group exhibition, Photobastei, Zurich, Aug 2014
HANDS OF TIME – group exhibition, Oslo 8, Basel, Sept 2013
RABBIT HOLES – group exhibition, Sotheby’s, London, Jan 2010
LOST BIRDS – dual artist show, Scalo/Guye Gallery, Los Angeles, June 2007
WOMEN: SELF PORTRAIT – group exhibition, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York, June 2006
LOST BIRDS & RABBIT HOLES – solo show, Galerie Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich, April 2006
FOUR INCHES – charity auction, Elton John Aids Foundation, Christie’s, London, May 2005
WASTE TO TASTE – group exhibition, Sotheby’s, London, Feb 2003
FOR LUCK – portrait Edmund De Waal, Egg Gallery, London, April 2002
OUTMODED – group exhibition, Sotheby’s, London, March 2001
UNEXPECTED – British artist portraits, Sotheby’s, New York, Dec 2001

SELECTED PRODUCED AND DIRECTED FILMS

THE WIND TUNNEL – short film, documentary, ZHdK, 2021
INVERSION – short film, artistic contribution, ZHdK, 2021
VOLO – Air to Air Shared Visions of Flight – artistic collaboration film and exhibition, 2019
BUILDING SPIRIT Of LIFE® – fund raising event, City of Hope, 2019
OUT OF CONTROL – cinema trailer, opening film, Ohlala, 2018
24 STOPS – project documentation, Tobias Rehberger, Fondation Beyeler, Vitra Design Museum, 2017
BENTLEY 1951 R-TYPE FASTBACK – short film, narrated by José Oliver, 2014
SWISS WINE – national promotion campaign, six regional short films and television trailer, 2014
NOAH – performance trailer, Origen Festival Cultural, 2014
XENIA – short film, Maxim, 2014
VANISHING – documentary, 10-act dance choreography, Hideto Heshiki, 2012
TRACK DAY – short film, St. Moritz Automobile Club, 2011
Various short films and commercials, 2009 - present

WORKSHOPS & LECTURES

ANALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPING workshop, B:B Schule für Gestaltung, Biel, Dec 2024
ZERO BASELINE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY Lecture – Swiss Photomonth, Spectrum - Photography in Switzerland, Filmpodium Biel-Bienne, 2024
RED, GREEN AND BLUE – Collaboration presentation, Pro Colore, Architekturforum Zurich, Nov 2023
ZERO BASELINE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE Workshop – Gymnasium Leonhard Basel, 2023 - 2024
ARCHIVE, ACCESS AND ATTUNE lecture – ZHdK, May 2023
ONE MINUTE EXPOSURE – SEETHINK LAB, 2021
THE EXPERIENCE ENHANCER – SEETHINK LAB, 2021
CIRCLE OF TREES – A FIELD GUIDE FOR DISCOVERY – 3-Dimensional space visual exploration, HGK Basel, 2021

WRITTEN WORK

IMAGES BEYOND LOGIC: PHENOMENOLOGY OF THE PHOTOGRAPH – HGK Basel, master’s thesis, Sept 2021
PERCEPTUAL INFLUENCES, TIME, AND THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE – HGK Basel, July 2020
SEEING THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY, SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES – HGK Basel, Jan 2020

ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS

THE OSLO MANIFESTO – climate initiative, The Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DogA), Nov 2015
MOI POUR TOIT FOUNDATION, charity book project, Martigny, 2014
WHITE CHRISTMAS CHARITY BALL, charity auction, Zurich, Nov 2011
FOUR INCHES – charity auction, Elton John Aids Foundation, Christie’s, London, May 2005

BOOKS AND PUBLICATION CONTRIBUTIONS

CHROMATIC – Explorations of a Family Archive – limited-edition, Patricia von Ah, 2022
CHASSELAS – FROM FÉCHY TO DÉZALEY – Chandra Kurt, 2014
INSPIRATIONS – charity book project, Moi pour Toit Foundation, 2014
KRUG, BY KRUG LOVERS – portrait Serena Sutcliffe, M.W., 2014
BEST OF ZEIT MAGAZIN – portrait Christian Kracht, Zeitverlag, 2010
LOST BIRDS – limited-edition, Patricia von Ah, 2007
FOUR INCHES – charity book project, Elton John Aids Foundation, 2005