Florian Maier-Aichen  (German, 1973) 

Florian Maier-Aichen (German, b.1973) is a photographer best known for using digital manipulation on traditional landscape images. After spending much of his early years in Germany, he decided to move to Sweden for college, studying at the Högskolan for Fotografi och Film in Gothenburg, Sweden. He also studied at the University of Essen in Germany before moving to the United States for graduate school, where he earned an MFA from the University of California in Los Angeles, CA.

Though many of his early works mimicked traditional landscapes, he learned alteration and manipulation techniques, which changed the face of his images. Maier-Aichen often uses double exposures, unusual angles, and unexpected patches of light in his images. Drawing inspiration from the early days of photography, some of his pieces have a combination of shadows and light that make the images resemble old-fashioned postcards. Known for mixing photography with digital techniques, his works have Surreal and fantastical elements. He is known for his Untitled series, which used images of different landmarks that he named each piece for, including Saddle Peak and Mount Wilson.

Maier-Aichen’s early works appeared in group shows in different areas of Europe. He was part of a group show at the Galeri Gufot in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1997, and was part of another group show at Art in the City in Stockholm, Sweden, the following year. The first solo show for the young artist came in 2002 at Blum & Poe Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. As he began to show his work in the Santa Monica area during graduate school, he acquired a fondness for the town, and several other galleries exhibited his work in recent years. The word of his talent soon spread to other areas, which led to gallery showings and exhibits at museums in the United States and Europe.

The Denver Art Museum, CO, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, NY, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, have Maier-Aichen’s works on display. In addition to showing his work, the Blum & Poe Gallery also acts as his official representation in the art world. The 303 Gallery in New York represents his work on the East Coast. Maier-Aichen currently divides his time between Los Angeles, CA, and Cologne, Germany.