Irena Eden & Stijn Lernout

In their joint artistic work, Irena Eden and Stijn Lernout deal with different aspects that revolve around mobility within geographical and social spaces. They pursue the political, socio-economic, and ecological origins in different ways and question the social and cultural mechanisms that are in motion here and there.
The artists approach these parameters in different ways: when traveling, in discussions, through research and in collaboration. They develop participatory projects, installations and works that make these activities tangible on an abstract-associative level.

(…) The artistic practice of Eden & Lernout is […] a quite abstract one using form and material, the display of collected objects, or the preparation of language as oral history. It follows previously established instructions, a concept, and serves primarily to visualize complex structures of space and time: the movement of bodies along borders in their historicity and their currency, the inscription of economic processes in large areas or the shift of lines and territories within what we call Europe. (…)*

The short excerpt from V.J. Müller’s text “Polyphonic Approaches” describes very precisely the way in which Irena Eden & Stijn Lernout artistically deal with areas of interest and content.

Irena Eden, born in Hamburg (Germany) & Stijn Lernout, born in Antwerp (Belgium), have been working together on the conception and implementation of artistic projects since graduating in 2004 after studying at the Muthesius Art Academy and the Weißensee Art Academy in Berlin.

In 2008 they moved their place of work and life from Berlin to Vienna. Over the years, in addition to project and installation work, painterly work has also developed.

* Vanessa Joan Müller; Polyphonic approaches; In loser Anordnung – In a Loose Arrangement; edited by Irena Eden & Stijn Lernout; published by Verlag für modern Kunst; Vienna; 2021; Page 22