Tatyana von Leys was born in Innsbruck, Austria, and studied French before immersing herself in philosophy as a visiting student. She has dedicated herself to painting since 1990 and now lives in Tegernsee in southern Germany. In the 1990s, she worked on projects with the renowned curator Peter Weiermair and presented her works in major exhibitions and publications. Her artistic practice and theoretical reflections merge in her book Das Neue Denken: Technik und Macht ist Evolution neu gedacht (2018), which was presented during Vienna Art Week and awarded Book of the Month December 2018 by transform magazine. During this time, Galerie Krinzinger published an extensive report with numerous illustrations of the artist, who was then known as Tatyana Wirth, in the art book Kunsttherorie Zeitgenössischer Kunst.
Von Leys' work addresses the self-creation and maintenance of systems, as expressed in her book and exhibitions, including The Future of the Body at Kunsthaus Graz (2022) and Technology, Art and the Posthuman at John Cabot University in Rome (2023). She explores the genetic modification of humans, cyborgization and the digitalization of human personalities as part of a posthuman future. Her works question the shifts in our image of humanity since the industrial revolution and the transition from a natural to an artificial order.
Von Leys has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Germany and abroad. Her works are represented in major collections and always reflect the tension between technology and human existence.