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.
She is an artistic associate and interdisciplinary collaborator, a board member of Photoforum Pasquart, and a member of Spectrum Photography Switzerland, contributing to the advancement of sustainable and critical photographic practice. As a lecturer and workshop leader, she develops curricula that unite conceptual inquiry with hands-on experimentation, fostering collaborative learning environments that link research, sustainability, and artistic practice.
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.
ASSOCIATED SITES
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RESEARCH
Zero Baseline of Photography
From First to Future.
A public resource mapping the genetic code of photography. Reconnecting us to where photography began, so we can better understand where we are, and where we're going. Built to restore trust in visual media, strengthen visual literacy, and provide us with the foundations of the medium. -
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WORKSHOPS & LECTURES
Workshops and lectures explore photography as both an artistic and cognitive practice. Sessions range from talks to hands-on workshops and hybrid formats, each designed to expand ways of seeing and connect theory with material exploration. Topics include sustainable practices in photography, documenting and archiving, materiality and practice, and theory and awareness.
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FILM & PHOTOGRPHY
Working across photography and film, this practice focuses on portraiture, documentary work, and collaborative commissions. Each project grows from attentive observation and a refined visual language, shaping images that are grounded, expressive, and rooted in authentic human connection.
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ARCHIVE
The Archive is a collected body of photography and film spanning many years of practice. It brings together completed projects and commissioned work, offering a structured record of the evolution of the film and photography projects over time.
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FARBRAUM
group exhibition, Schweizerischen Nationalbibliothek, Bern, Nov–Jan 2025RED, GREEN AND BLUE
collaboration exhibition, Galerie Agènor, Zurich, Sept 2022THE WHY
group exhibition, Gulla Jónsdóttir Atelier, La Peer Hotel, Los Angeles, Dec–Jan 2020VOLO
collaboration exhibition, Building Bridges Art Exchange, Los Angeles, Dec–Feb 2019BRICK/GRIT
group exhibition, Bestor Architecture, Los Angeles, Dec 2018QUIET PLACE
group exhibition, Secrets, Kunsthalle, Bern, Nov 2015C&J
group exhibition, Photobastei, Zurich, Aug 2014HANDS OF TIME
group exhibition, Oslo 8, Basel, Sept 2013RABBIT HOLES
group exhibition, Sotheby’s, London, Jan 2010LOST BIRDS
dual artist show, Scalo/Guye Gallery, Los Angeles, June 2007WOMEN: SELF PORTRAIT
group exhibition, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York, June 2006LOST BIRDS & RABBIT HOLES
solo show, Galerie Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich, April 2006FOUR INCHES
charity auction, Elton John Aids Foundation, Christie’s, London, May 2005WASTE TO TASTE
group exhibition, Sotheby’s, London, Feb 2003FOR LUCK
portrait Edmund De Waal, Egg Gallery, London, April 2002OUTMODED
group exhibition, Sotheby’s, London, March 2001UNEXPECTED
British artist portraits, Sotheby’s, New York, Dec 2001 -
THE WIND TUNNEL
short film, documentary, ZHdK, 2021INVERSION
short film, artistic contribution, ZHdK, 2021VOLO – Air to Air Shared Visions of Flight
artistic collaboration film and exhibition, 2019BUILDING SPIRIT Of LIFE®
fundraising event, City of Hope, 2019OUT OF CONTROL
cinema trailer, opening film, Ohlala, 201824 STOPS
project documentation, Tobias Rehberger, Fondation Beyeler, Vitra Design Museum, 2017BENTLEY 1951 R-TYPE FASTBACK
short film, narrated by José Oliver, 2014SWISS WINE
national promotion campaign, six regional short films and television trailer, 2014NOAH
performance trailer, Origen Festival Cultural, 2014XENIA
short film, Maxim, 2014VANISHING
documentary, 10-act dance choreography, Hideto Heshiki, 2012TRACK DAY
short film, St. Moritz Automobile Club, 2011Various Short Films and Commercials
2009–present -
ANALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPING
workshop, B:B Schule für Gestaltung, Biel, 2024 - PresentZERO BASELINE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
lecture, Swiss Photomonth – Spectrum: Photography in Switzerland, Filmpodium Biel-Bienne, 2024RED, GREEN AND BLUE
collaboration presentation, Pro Colore, Architekturforum Zurich, Nov 2023ZERO BASELINE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE
workshop, Gymnasium Leonhard, Basel, 2023–2024ARCHIVE, ACCESS AND ATTUNE
lecture, ZHdK, May 2023ONE MINUTE EXPOSURE
SEETHINK Lab, 2021THE EXPERIENCE ENHANCER
SEETHINK Lab, 2021CIRCLE OF TREES – A FIELD GUIDE FOR DISCOVERY
3-dimensional space visual exploration, HGK Basel, 2021 -
IMAGES BEYOND LOGIC: PHENOMENOLOGY OF THE PHOTOGRAPH
HGK Basel, master’s thesis, Sept 2021PERCEPTUAL INFLUENCES, TIME, AND THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE
HGK Basel, July 2020SEEING THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY, SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
HGK Basel, Jan 2020 -
THE OSLO MANIFESTO
climate initiative, The Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DogA), Nov 2015MOI POUR TOIT FOUNDATION
charity book project, Martigny, 2014WHITE CHRISTMAS CHARITY BALL
charity auction, Zurich, Nov 2011FOUR INCHES
charity auction, Elton John Aids Foundation, Christie’s, London, May 2005 -
CHROMATIC – EXPLORATIONS OF A FAMILY ARCHIVE
limited edition, Patricia von Ah, 2022CHASSELAS – FROM FÉCHY TO DÉZALEY
Chandra Kurt, 2014INSPIRATIONS
charity book project, Moi pour Toit Foundation, 2014KRUG, BY KRUG LOVERS
portrait Serena Sutcliffe, M.W., 2014BEST OF ZEIT MAGAZIN
portrait Christian Kracht, Zeitverlag, 2010LOST BIRDS
limited edition, Patricia von Ah, 2007FOUR INCHES
charity book project, Elton John Aids Foundation, 2005
