Annelies Štrba (*1947, Zug, Switzerland) is a Swiss artist known for her artistic production across various mediums, including video, photography, and digital media. Her interest in photography began at a young age and developed into more then a passion, in her own language to communicate with. In 1963, she started a three-year training as a photographer, and in 1971 she won the Swiss Federal Design Award for three consecutive years. The primary subjects of her art are predominantly domestic and familial, encompassing portraits as well as natural and urban landscapes. Her art is personal, enriched with memories, intensity, and a hint of nostalgia.
At the age of 40, Annelies had hundreds of photographic works that no one outside her family had ever seen. Then, in 1990, she first presented her art to the public at the Kunsthalle in Zurich, gaining widespread recognition. However, at that time, she feared that her works, which exclusively represented her family and daily life, would label her as a portrait photographer rather than a true artist. Therefore, in the 1990s, she began to explore other photographic techniques and tackle different subjects. But, above all, she started traveling the world. She undertook various journeys for her work, visiting East Germany and Poland, Spain, Japan, England, Scotland, and France. The big cities thus became a very important subject in her work.
But not long after, her family once again became the favoured subject of her photographs. The female figures, namely her daughters and granddaughters, appear dreamy and serene, as if they are trapped in a dream. In Annelies Štrba’s art, there is a generational female line, starting from her mother, who was also an artist, and passing through herself, her daughters, and her granddaughters. Men do not play a part in her dreamlike images; they remain on the sidelines.
In 1997, she had her first major exhibition at the Aargauer Kunsthaus in Aarau. Besides Switzerland, she has exhibited widely in Europe and the United States, in prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris, and the Hayward Gallery in London.