NAME :
Josef Daniel Maier.
OCCUPATION :
Visual Artist.
WHERE WERE YOU BORN :
Austria.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE :
Near Graz in Austria.
WHEN DID YOU BEGIN PAINTING :
In 2020, not by plan, but by an inner calling louder than logic.
WHAT INSPIRES YOUR PAINTINGS :
Life itself. Emotions. The body. Encounters. Coincidences that aren’t really coincidences.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE WORK SO FAR :
The Golden Self – a luminous testament to rediscovering inner worth.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST IN 10 YEARS TIME :
In a spacious studio, surrounded by color and silence – and, sometimes, the laughter of my children or my wife.
DO YOU GET ARTIST’S BLOCK :
Rarely. Ideas come easily, it’s the structure I wrestle with.
IF YOU COULD SPEND A DAY WITH ANY ARTIST DEAD OR ALIVE WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE :
Salvador Dalí – to dive into the conversation between dream, madness, and creation.
IF YOU COULD SPEND A DAY IN ANY GALLERY WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE :
Saatchi Gallery.
IF YOU COULD OWN ANY ARTWORK WHICH WOULD YOU HAVE :
“Convergence“ by Jackson Pollock.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS :
Creative, resilient, adaptable.
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY :
Drawing tribal signs and animals on my neighbor kids’ skin, ritual without words.
WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A KID :
Quiet, curious, observing. I loved reading, drawing and asking big questions.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION :
My creativity, it’s my compass.
IF YOU COULD PHOTOGRAPH ANYONE, WHO WOULD IT BE :
If I could photograph anyone, I would choose to portray Dora Maar. Her fascinating figure, both as an artist and as Picasso’s muse, has a complex and intense story made up of art, passion, and inner struggles. A portrait of her would be a unique opportunity to explore her personality through the lens, trying to capture that mix of mystery and strength that characterized her life and her art. Meeting Dora Maar would be an extraordinary opportunity to tell a piece of art history through the image.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS:
Curious, creative, and determined.
WHAT IS YOUR FIRST MEMORY :
My first memory is when I was a child, watching my parents prepare a family dinner. There was a warm light coming through the window, and I was struck by the atmosphere of warmth and serenity. Even though I don’t remember the exact details, that moment of tranquility and family connection is deeply imprinted in my memory as a moment that left a lasting emotional mark.
WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A CHILD :
As a child, I was curious and always in motion, with a great desire to explore the world around me.
I liked to observe everything in detail and ask a thousand questions, always trying to understand how things worked.
I was also very creative, spending hours drawing or inventing stories. I liked being with others,
but I also had moments of solitude, where I would retreat into my thoughts and fantasies.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION :
My daughters.
WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE :
Myself, No one else knows the inner chaos that well.
CHOOSE A SUPERPOWER :
Waking up easily, no cold showers, no coffee, just presence.
WHAT IS YOUR WORST TRAIT :
Stubbornness, sometimes a path, sometimes a wall.
WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT :
Art. And our cat, who sometimes embodies it.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT :
Choosing myself. Leaving medicine to follow a path no one understood but me. Becoming a full-time artist and not giving up when it got hard. Creating a life where my inner world becomes visible, day after day, on canvas. And doing all of that alongside someone who believes in me, even when I forget to.
DO YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS :
Rarely. I prefer audiobooks on art, psychology and personal growth.
WHAT’S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE :
Sweets in the evening a soft ending to a wild day.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING YOU EVER STOLE :
A cup from a hostel. It broke the next day, and someone stole money from me. Karma’s response : clear and poetic.
YOU ARE HEADING TO THE ISS / INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, CHOOSE 4 PEOPLE TO TAKE A LONG :
My girlfriend, one astronaut, and two excellent psychotherapists – we’d need mental clarity up there.
WHAT WOULD A PERFECT DAY FOR YOU LOOK LIKE :
Painting. Time with loved ones. Salt on my skin, sun on my face, sand beneath my feet.
IF YOU COULD BE FRIENDS WITH A FICTIONAL CHARACTER WHO WOULD IT BE :
Jack Sparrow, chaos with charm and courage.
WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF YOUR JOB :
Freedom. And the chance to make meaning visible.
ARE THERE DAYS YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO TO WORK :
Rarely. But yes I’m human, not a machine.
PICK YOUR TOP 5 MAGAZINES :
I don’t read magazines much, I prefer books and faces.
WHAT IS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ :
Dark Side of the Boom: The Excesses of the Art Market in the Twenty-First Century.
WHAT WAS THE LAST GIFT YOU GAVE SOMEONE :
A Fine Art Edition of one of my paintings, a piece of soul on paper.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU :
Pressure. And the promise of new possibilities.
YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION :
Anywhere by the sea – where salt and sunlight cleanse the mind.
YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE DESTINATION :
India, too intense for my sensitivity.
WHATS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST :
Many paintings. Children. Exhibitions. And inner growth.
DO YOU LIKE BEING INTERVIEWED :
Depends on the questions and whether the listener truly listens.
WHAT’S THE CLOSEST YOU HAVE COME TO DEATH :
There was no single dramatic event – but moments of quiet erosion. Times where I lost connection to myself, numbed by expectation, distant from my truth. That kind of soul-death is slower, but just as real. Art saved me. Again and again. And of course that times like standing on a ladder doing electrical work, too lazy to switch off the fuse. Or when I used to ride motorbikes and started daydreaming mid-ride… or got distracted watching birds fly.
Let’s just say: I don’t ride anymore. The universe clearly prefers me alive and painting.
IF YOU HAD A BOAT WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED :
Bubba Gump.
WHATS A PERSONAL MOTTO OR MESSAGE :
Pause. Feel. Create.
@josefdanielmaier.art
josefdanielmaier.art
