The complete works of Astrid Klein, created over four decades, include various media: drawings, collages, photographs, text, paintings, installations, sculptures. Very soon she was considered a pioneer of experimental photography and photographic collage. She ignored the limits of a chosen medium, experimented, decontextualised, and added new value. Klein studied at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences between 1973 and 1977. From 1993 to 2017, she lectured at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig, and in 1986 she was a guest lecturer at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg.

Shortly after graduating, she achieved recognition due to the many awards and scholarships she received. She participated in legendary exhibitions such as “… von hier aus” in Düsseldorf (1984), “Kunst nach 1945” at the Nationalgalerie in Berlin (1985), documenta in Kassel (1987), “Art from Europe” at the Tate Gallery in London (1987), and “Deutschlandbilder” at Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau (1997). Even today, her works can be viewed in museums all over the world, particularly in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. In 2018, Deichtorhallen in Hamburg held a large retrospective of Klein’s work.