Maya Rochat is a Swiss visual artist known for her experimental approach to photography and image-making. A graduate of ECAL (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne) and HEAD – Geneva University of Art and Design, she works across multiple media—combining photography, painting, video, and live performance to create immersive pictorial experiences.

Her work has been exhibited at major international institutions including the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), Tate Modern (London), Photo Elysée (Lausanne), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), and ETH Zürich.

Rochat’s Living in the Painting series—monumental, poetic live projections created in collaboration with musicians such as Buvette, Julie Semoroz, and Blackout—has enthralled audiences at iconic venues including Tate Modern’s South Tank, Lausanne’s Plateforme 10, Geneva’s Grand Théâtre, and Lucerne’s KKL.

Her bold and innovative practice has earned her numerous prestigious awards, including the Prix AMP (2022), Prix Mobilière (2019), Bourse Leenaards (2018), and Prix Abraham Hermanjat (2017). Maya Rochat’s works are held in significant public and private collections, and continue to push the boundaries of contemporary image-making with a raw, vibrant, and deeply poetic vision.

Her works are part of numerous public and private collections.

portrait photo by Maurine Tric

Maya Rochat (1985), based in Cully, Switzerland

OVER THE PAST DECADE, MAYA ROCHAT HAS DEVELOPED AN EXPANSIVE BODY OF WORK THAT ENGAGES AND TRANSFORMS SPACE, IMMERSING VIEWERS IN VIBRANT, MULTISENSORY VISUAL EXPERIENCES. MOVING FLUIDLY BETWEEN PAINTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY, SHE EXPLORES A WIDE RANGE OF FORMATS AND SUPPORTS THROUGH LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATIONS AND PERFORMATIVE INTERVENTIONS.

PAINTING LIES AT THE CORE OF HER PRACTICE — A DIRECT, INTUITIVE LANGUAGE THROUGH WHICH INSTINCT, GESTURE, AND COLOR UNFOLD. HER WORK IS CHARACTERIZED BY A PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL RELATIONSHIP TO IMAGE-MAKING, WHERE PROCESS AND PRESENCE ARE CENTRAL.

SINCE 2018, MAYA ROCHAT HAS EXTENDED HER PRACTICE TO INCLUDE OBJECTS AND GARMENTS. DEVELOPED FROM THE SAME PRINT USED IN HER EXHIBITIONS, THESE EDITIONS CREATE A CONTINUOUS DIALOGUE WITH HER INSTALLATIVE WORK, EXPANDING HER ONGOING INTERDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE BEYOND THE EXHIBITION SPACE.

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