Contact
E-Mail: hello@zarapfeifer.com
Instagram: @zarapfeifer

Info
Zara Pfeifer is an artist based in Vienna and Berlin whose work focuses on the social phenomena of large-scale infrastructure. Her documentation of the modernist housing project Alterlaa (Du, meine konkrete Utopie, 2013–2017) and her series on truck drivers (Good Street!, 2018–2022) involves extended periods of immersion in the day-to-day lives of her subjects.

She has worked with institutions such as the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Berlin. Her work has been published in Monocle, ZEITmagazin, ARCH+ and Monopol. Pfeifer received a studio grant at ISCP New York from the Austrian Federal Government in 2023. Currently, she is a resident of the research group C/O BARDI in Florence. Zara Pfeifer was awarded the MAK Schindler Scholarship in Los Angeles for 2025/2026. Her book ICC Berlin was published in 2022 by Jovis Verlag. Pfeifer studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and photography at the Friedl Kubelka School for Artistic Photography in Vienna. Since 2019, she teaches a seminar about architectural photography at the Technical University Vienna.

Artist Statment
Zara Pfeifer’s work explores the complex relationship between people and space. Whether documenting residential complexes, construction sites, or logistics, Pfeifer is captivated by both the large-scale structural and infrastructural systems as well as the small, often overlooked human activities within them. Through long-term projects, she investigates how architecture shapes social behavior at both the individual and societal levels.

To grasp these dynamics, Pfeifer immerses herself into the world she documents—not merely as an observer, but as an active participant. This approach allows her to understand spatial-social structures from within, observe changes over time, and challenge her own perspective as a photographer through a participatory presence.

Teaching

Since 2019, Pfeifer has taught a seminar on architectural photography titled On Site at the Technical University of Vienna, Research Unit of Housing and Design, Prof. Michael Obrist.

Between 2021 and 2022, she led photo research seminars, Living Worlds and Everyday Matters, at the Technical University of Berlin, Institute of Architecture, Prof. Rainer Hehl.

Additional teaching assignments include Syracuse University Florence, Technical University Graz, Bauhaus University Weimar, University of Heidelberg, Technical University Munich, and others.

Lectures, Workshops
Workshops, lectures and guest critics at various architecture and art schools, institutions and festivals across Europe and the US: Parsons School of Design New York, RWTH Aachen, MAK Center for Art and Architecture, University of Arts Linz, The Royal Danish Academy, Leibniz University Hannover, HCU Hamburg, Roundabout Berlin, Technical University Berlin, Bremen School of Architecture, Technical University Munich, Technical University Vienna, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Technical University Stuttgart, Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, FvF–Friends Space Berlin, CAMP Prague, Forum 4 am Brno, CAFx Copenhagen Architecture Festival and One Architecture Week in Bulgaria.

Exhibitions
The Cooper Union New York, Fuse Zürich, Casa Cristo Guadalajara, Museo Ciudad Mexico City, MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Jahr der Fotografie Kärnten, Akademie der Künste Berlin, ISCP New York, Never at Home Foto Wien, Projektraum Ludwig Engel, Austrian Cultural Forum Prague, Künstlerhaus Vienna, Galerie Kernweine Stuttgart, Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin, ENTKUNSTUNG Berlin, Galerie Georg Kargl Wien, Krinzinger Projekte Wien, Fotogalerie Wien, Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fotohof Salzburg, BDA Hamburg, HCU Hamburg, Bremen School of Architecture, Crush Curatorial New York, ARCH+ Schaufenster Berlin, AzW Architekturzentrum Wien, CAFx Copenhagen Architecture Festival, One Architecture Week in Bulgaria, Mediterranea 18 Young Artists Biennale in Albania, CP Projects Gallery in New York.

Commissions
Zara Pfeifer has collaborated with several architects and designers, including Artek, Something Fantastic, Atelier Fanelsa, FREITAG, Max Dudler, c/o now, das BAU, Cainelliklaska, Thorben Gröbel, Büro für Konstruktivismus, Simon Palme & Tanaz Modabber, Santini Santoni, Alfredo Thiermann, Anna Paul, ISLAA, Oficina, HENN, DMtk, Silvia Guerrini & Chadia Haddad, Bauhaus Earth, Overhead Architecture, BINGO HAVEL, Gramazio Kohler Research.

Part of Connected Archives
Interview for Berlin Art Link in 2024.



© Zara Pfeifer, 2025. All rights reserved.