BIOGRAPHY
Liesl Pfeffer is a Berlin-based Australian visual artist working with photography, collage and textiles in response to the built environment. With an interest in pattern, form and colour and using an invented, personal language of symbols and shapes, she communicates her lived experience. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Liesl lived in New York and Melbourne prior to moving to Berlin in 2018. She has a Bachelor of Photography from the Queensland College of Art and a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) from Monash University.
Liesl has exhibited widely in Australia, Europe and the USA since 2005, including solo exhibitions at c3 Contemporary Art Space and Kings ARI (Melbourne, Australia) and the Queensland Centre for Photography (Brisbane, Australia). Recent group exhibitions include SPRING/BREAK Art Fair, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Trestle Projects and Chashama (all New York). Liesl has attended international artist residencies including Vermont Studio Center, The Banff Centre and The Wassaic Project.
Limited edition print sales are available from Uprise Art in the USA/worldwide, Producers Art Platform in Germany, as well as privately via email.
Photograph: Nicolas Greiff
CV
Liesl Pfeffer
b. 1979, Australia
Education
2017 Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2006 Bachelor of Photography (Photographic Art Practice), Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Solo Exhibitions
2018 New Shapes, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, Australia
2017 To See the Moon Fall From the Sky, Intermission Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2014 Souvenir, curated by Eyal Perry (Glasshouse Projects), Art+Lounge, Newark Liberty Airport, NJ
2011 Souvenir, Queensland Centre for Photography, Brisbane, Australia
Hearts and Arrows, KINGS ARI, Melbourne, Australia
2010 Souvenir, NO NO Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2006 Unravelling, Red Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Residencies
2018 Hill End Artist in Residence Program, Hill End, NSW, Australia. Residency.
2016 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, USA. Residency.
2015 The Banff Centre, Banff, Canada. Residency.
2014 The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY, USA. Residency.
Group Exhibitions
2024 Closer, PhMuseum Days 2024 International Photography Festival, Bologna, Italy.
2023 Art Auction 11, Weserhalle, Berlin, Germany.
Artspring Pop-up, Berlin, Germany.
Summer Exhibition, Galleri Heike Arndt, Kettinge, Denmark.
2022 Holiday Gift Guide, Uprise Art, New York, NY, USA.
Scout, Galleri Heike Arndt, Kettinge, Denmark.
Illusion, Glue, Berlin, Germany.
Fresh Legs, Galleri Heike Arndt, Berlin, Germany.
Der Mythos Ist Hin, Galerie Pankow, Berlin, Germany.
2021 Will you remember this?, with Beate Tischer, Tête, Berlin, Germany.
Bild einer Ausstellung, Galerie Parterre, Berlin, Germany.
Artspring Artwalk, Sparkasse Schönhauser Allee, Berlin, Germany.
2020 Promenademischung, Atelierhaus Prenzlauer Promenade, Berlin, Germany.
Cyanotype, Lumitrix, London, UK. Online exhibition.
2019 New Talents, Photographic Exploration Project, Tête, Berlin, Germany.
Postcard Salon, Jarvis Dooney Galerie, Berlin, Germany.
2018 Postcards from the End, presented by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Hill End, Australia.
Clyde and Co Art Award, 2018, Melbourne, Australia.
2017 MADA NOW Graduate Exhibition, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia
Plant Patterns, Arsenal Gallery, New York, NY
To See the Moon Fall from the Sky, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, NY
Equinozio di primavera a Benaco Arte, Benaco Arts, Sirmione, Italy
2016 Borderless: In Perspective, Lite-Haus Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Tribeca Art Night, Uprise Art, New York, NY
Here Where We Are, hpgrp gallery, New York, NY
2015 Jardin, Studio No 4, Brooklyn, NY
Ortega 100, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY
Intertwined, Nebraska Gallery, Portland, OR
Better Homes and Gardens, chashama 461 Gallery, New York, NY
Instant Vacation, Trestle Projects, Brooklyn NY
Deep End, The Wassaic Project, Wassaic NY
Somewhere in the City, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne, Australia
Fluid, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY
Montagnes Design, Nouvelles Inspirations, Couvent Sainte-Cécile, Grenoble, France
2014 Grab Bag, curated by Will Hutnick and Polly Shindler, Trestle Projects, Brooklyn, NY
Exchange Rates: the Bushwick Expo, curated by Arts in Bushwick, Brooklyn Fire Proof, Bushwick, NY.
Exquisite Collage, Local Project, Long Island City, NY
The Last Brucennial, presented by the Bruce High Quality Foundation, 837 Washington St, NY, NY
Post-Photography: Beyond the Print, Scott Hazard, curator, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA
2013 NURTUREart Benefit, Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, Manhattan NY
Pangea, New York Foundation for the Arts Gallery, Brooklyn NY
Contextualizations: It's a Race for Space, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2010 Fit to Print, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2007 The Plastic Photo Show, Incinerator Arts Complex, Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, Australia
2006 Churchie Emerging Artist Award, East Brisbane, Australia
Young Brisbane Artists, Gallery 419, Spring Hill, Brisbane, Australia
2005 Resolution, Queensland College of Art, Graduate Exhibition, QCA, Brisbane, Australia
Ladyfest Brisbane, Photo Femmes, Rivoli Gallery, New Farm, Brisbane, Australia
2High Festival, Queensland Performing Arts Center, Brisbane, Australia
Photographic Skin, curated by Rose Philips, Soapbox Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Programs, Grants and Awards
2018 Clyde and Co Art Award. Finalist.
2016 American Australian Association, Dame Joan Sutherland Fund. Grant.
Copyright Agency (Australia), Creative Individuals Career Fund. Grant.
2015 New York Foundation for the Arts’ Immigrant Artist Program, New York, NY. Mentor.
2013 New York Foundation for the Arts’ Immigrant Artist Program, New York, NY. Mentee.
2006 Churchie Emerging Artist Award, Australia. Finalist.
2005 Queensland Centre for Photography Graduate Prize, Australia. Winner.
Queensland Artworkers Alliance. Grant.
Workshops, Lectures, Panels
2019 Jarvis Dooney Galerie, Berlin, Germany. Artist talk.
2016 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, USA. Artist in residence lecture.
2015 The Banff Centre, Banff, Canada. Artist in residence lecture.
2014 The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY, USA. Artist in residence lecture.
2013 New York Foundation for the Arts’ Immigrant Artist Program, New York, NY. Artist lecture.
2011 Hearts and Arrows, KINGS ARI, Melbourne, Australia. Artist lecture.
2006 Young Brisbane Artists, Gallery 419, Brisbane, Australia. Panel discussion.
2005 Griffith University Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia. Artist lecture.
Relevant Professional Experience
2024 American-Australian Association Arts Fund. Peer Assessor.
2023 American-Australian Association Arts Fund. Peer Assessor..
2021 American-Australian Association Arts Fund. Peer Assessor.
2020 Urban Challenges, B-Part Gallery, Photographic Exploration Project. Berlin. Juror.
2019 American-Australian Association Arts Fund. Peer Reviewer, Round 1 2019.
2017-9 Australia Council for the Arts’ Pool of Peers. Peer Assessor, 2017-2019.
2016 Teaching Assistant, School of the International Centre of Photography, New York, USA.
2015 Gallery Attendant, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA.
2011 Marketing Officer, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
Interim Marketing Coordinator, Next Wave Festival, Melbourne, Australia.
2007-9 Communication & Admin Assistant, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia.
2005-6 Arts Writer, Time Off, Brisbane, Australia.
Selected Bibliography
2023 Racket Journal, Issue 83, 2023, San Francisco, California, USA. Featured artwork.
2021 Visit with Liesl Pfeffer, Uprise Art, New York, USA, July 2021. Interview.
2020 Virtual Studio Visit, Outback Arthouse, Los Angeles, USA. Interview.
Quarantine Zine, vol. 1, April 2020. Photo essay.
2019 Streem Magazine, Summer 2019. Featured artwork.
2018 NOROO Pantone Color Institute, Coverall, Vol 3, December 2018. Featured artwork.
2017 Zara Sigglekow, ‘Best in show: graduate round-up 2017’, Art Guide Australia, November 2017. Review.
To See The Moon Fall From The Sky. Intermission Gallery. Catalogue.
2016 Kelly McCafferty, 'Singular Objects in a Vast Empty Space', The Coastal Post, May 2016. Interview.
2015 'Meet Liesl Pfeffer', Uprise Art, October 2015. Interview.
Camilla Birkeland, ‘Liesl Pfeffer’, Lucida Journal, September 2015, Issue 1. Interview.
Toby Fehily, ‘Somewhere in the City’, Art Guide Australia, June 30, 2015. Review
Somewhere in the City. Arts Project Australia. Catalogue.
Benjamin Sutton, ‘Your concise guide to the Bushwick Open Studios’, Hyperallergic, June 1, 2015. Review.
Montagnes Design, Nouvelles Inspirations, Fondation Glenat. Catalogue.
‘Liesl Pfeffer - Playful, Experimental and Handmade’, Patternbank. Review.
2014 ‘Liesl Pfeffer’, The Jealous Curator. Review.
2013 ‘Aussie Invasion’, City Paper (Baltimore, MD), January 2-9, 2013. Photography.
2012 ‘Things half seen’, Verity La (Australia), 2012. Photography.
‘X marks the spot’, Vogue Living (Australia), Mar/Apr 2012, p 58. Featured artwork.
2011 Liesl Pfeffer: Souvenir, Queensland Centre for Photography. Catalogue.
‘Things that make us smile’, House & Garden (Australia), September 2011, p 290. Featured artwork.
LivingEtc (United Kingdom), August 2011, np. Featured artwork.
Elle Interior (Sweden), May 2011, np. Featured artwork.
Blue day’, Home Ideas (Australia), November 2011, p11. Featured artwork.
2010 ‘Featured artist’, National Association for the Visual Arts. Featured artist.
‘Liesl Pfeffer’, The Design Files. Interview.
‘Liesl Pfeffer’, Design Milk. Review.
‘Souvenir’, Arena Magazine (Australia), December 2010, No. 109, pp. 27-30. Photo essay.
‘Liesl Pfeffer’, Design for Mankind. Review.
‘The house that jealousy built’, SF Girl by Bay. Review.
‘I’m jealous of Liesl Pfeffer’, The Jealous Curator. Review.
2005 ‘Ladyfest’, Time Off (Australia), Sept 7, 2005, p 55. Interview.
Vulture (Australia), Winter 2005, Issue 1, pp. 8,10. Photography.