Maria Petschnig

Maria Petschnig (born 1977) is an Austrian artist and filmmaker. Her works include a variety of media including video art. Her artistic works frequently deal with memory and voyeurism. Her works have been shown at numerous exhibitions in Europe and the United States including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Petschnig's works have received critical reviews from The New York Times, Artforum and Art in America.

Biography Early life Petschnig was born in 1977 in Klagenfurt, Austria. She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the Royal College of Art, London and at the Wimbledon School of Art, London. After spending some years in Paris and London, Petschnig moved to New York City in 2003. Through her artworks, Petschnig raises social, psychological and existential issues while complicating the viewing experience. She makes her audience aware and often uncomfortable about their voyeuristic inclinations.

Karen Rosenberg of The New York Times argued that Petschnig's work can seem like a gentler version of Viennese Actionism's extreme body art or of the gender-bending epics of Matthew Barney.

In 2010, Petschnig's works were included in the Greater New York exhibition at the MoMA PS1 of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 2013, her artworks Petschsniggle and Vasistas were exhibited nationally as well as internationally.

In 2021, Petschnig produced her first documentary film, Uncomfortably Comfortable. The film chronicles the life of a homeless person, Marc, who lives in his car in New York City. The film premiered at the 45th Duisburger Filmwoche, where it received the ARTE-Dokumentarfilmpreis (ARTE Documentary Award) for the year 2021. Phuong Le in The Guardian called it a "commendably transparent" documentary.

Her first feature narrative film Beautiful and Neat Room screened in competition at the 30th STFF Split Film Festival in Croatia in September 2025, and won the Grand Prix for best feature.

Petschnig's artworks and films have been featured in multiple exhibitions and film festivals including the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Anthology Film Archives. She has also given talks on her work at Columbia University, Vassar College, The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Moscow, National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Yekaterinburg and The New School.

Recognition Besides having received the Competition Features GRAND PRIX 2025 and the ARTE-Dokumentarfilmpreis, Petschnig is a recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant and the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant, New York. She has also received a national grant from the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport of the Government of Austria.

Filmography Year Title Length 2002 saucy slips & kinky curves 3 min 2003 peep 7 min 2006 Scopophilic 3 min 2007 KIP MASKER 3 min 2007 MINNIE 6 min 2008 Pareidolia 4 min 2008 Holodeck 2 min 2009 Born to Perform 20 min 2010 Episoden & Windows 17 min 2010 De Niña A Mujer 11 min 2011 An Evening at Home 7 min 2011 Commercial Break 1 min 2011 Coaching Sessions 4 min 2012 Unwind at the Lost & Find 3 min 2013 Vasistas 5 min 2013 Petschsniggle 7 min 2013 steppin' out for lunch 6 min 2014 C. 28 min 2017 0000.0078-I 2 min 2017 Poké, garden 22 min 2019 THE FEEDBACK 7 min 2019 AXxoN N. 3 min 2020 2042__Weniger_Zu_wenig 14 min 2020 Happy Birthday Anthology Film Archives! 2 min 2021 Uncomfortably Comfortable 72 min 2025 Beautiful and Neat Room 118 min

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