Max Leiss

Max Leiss is a visual artist and Lecturer at the Institute of Architecture IAR, Hochschule Luzern (Lucerne School of Engineering and Architecture). He specializes in sculpture, photography, and public art, focusing on themes like materiality, urban landscapes, and spatial design. Leiss holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe (2012), with additional studies in Paris and a woodcarving apprenticeship in Munich.

His research and teaching emphasize interdisciplinary approaches, including 'Spaziergangswissenschaft' (walkology) and the intersection of art and architecture. Key awards include the Kunstpreis junger westen (2017) and Kalinowski-Preis (2017). Leiss has exhibited widely in solo and group shows across Europe, such as Seestück (2024 Kunsthalle Arbon) and Wegstücke (2025 Kunstmeile Recklinghausen).

• Teaching: Guest criticships at FHNW, EPFL Lausanne, and ETH Zürich.
• Residencies: Cité Internationale des Arts Paris (2014), Atelier Mondial Basel (2012).
• Public Art: Projects in Switzerland, Germany, and France, including collaborations with Eric Hattan and Coralie Berchtold.

Publications include catalogues for exhibitions and theoretical essays on sculpture and urban space. His work critiques spatial hierarchies and material culture through installations, photographs, and site-specific interventions.