Irene Fortuyn, Buntings made out of newspaper and polished concrete cast stones, Mending Days (Detail), 2007

Irene Fortuyn


Irene Fortuyn is a spatial artist and creates sculptures, installations and works focused on parks and landscapes. For her, art can also be "outside". She studied at the Hogeschool van Arnhem and Nijmegen and at the National Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam. She subsequently studied philosophy at the University of Amsterdam.

Until his death, she formed the successful artist duo Fortuyn / O'Brien together with her husband Robert O'Brien (1951-1988). They participated in Sonsbeek ’86, the Venice Biennale (1988) and Documenta (Kassel). Since 2000, Irene Fortuyn has been head of the Man and Leisure department at the Design Academy in Eindhoven.

In 1993 Fortuyn removed eight monumental pedestals from the depot of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp for the work Reserve. She sought the roots of art, the basis of preservation and the foundation of exhibiting. Then she made molds from the pedestals and showed them together with the original ones. After all, the mold is also cast and that raises the question of what the work of art is. This contradiction questions the boundaries of the exhibition and the exhibited. That reversal creates tension.

Questioning is a central theme in Fortuyn's work. The extensive research that precedes her work is of great importance. For example, she invited NRC readers to submit a description of their view, which resulted in a topographic map with views.

The questioning is reflected in KETTER & Co, an organization initiated and managed by Fortuyn. It focuses on projects (from idea formation to realization) for the benefit of the social, social and urban space. Fortuyn's work has been shown at home and abroad. In 2019 her Schöne Aussicht was shown at ARTZUID.

Irene Fortuyn lives and works in Amsterdam (NL).

Irene Fortuyn, Vintage map mounted on linen and laser cut, World of Welcome II, 2012

WORLD OF WELCOME II, 2012

Vintage map mounted on linen and laser cut
Irene Fortuyn

View

WORLD OF WELCOME II

Vintage map mounted on linen and laser cut

Irene Fortuyn

Irene Fortuyn, Vintage map mounted on linen and laser cut, World of Welcome II (Detail), 2012

WORLD OF WELCOME II (DETAIL), 2012

Vintage map mounted on linen and laser cut
Irene Fortuyn

View

WORLD OF WELCOME II (DETAIL)

Vintage map mounted on linen and laser cut

Irene Fortuyn

Irene Fortuyn, Cast Bronze, Untitled Bronze Drippings (Detail view), 1999

UNTITLED BRONZE DRIPPINGS (DETAIL VIEW), 1999

Cast Bronze
Irene Fortuyn

View

UNTITLED BRONZE DRIPPINGS (DETAIL VIEW)

Cast Bronze

Irene Fortuyn

Irene Fortuyn, Bunting out of old newspapers, To The Day, 2007

TO THE DAY, 2007

Bunting out of old newspapers
Irene Fortuyn

View

TO THE DAY

Bunting out of old newspapers

Irene Fortuyn

Irene Fortuyn, Buntings made out of newspaper and polished concrete cast stones, Mending Days (Installation View), 2007

MENDING DAYS (INSTALLATION VIEW), 2007

Buntings made out of newspaper and polished concrete cast stones
Irene Fortuyn

View

MENDING DAYS (INSTALLATION VIEW)

Buntings made out of newspaper and polished concrete cast stones

Irene Fortuyn

Irene Fortuyn, Cast Bronze, Untitled Bronze Drippings (Installation View), 2009

UNTITLED BRONZE DRIPPINGS (INSTALLATION VIEW), 2009

Cast Bronze
Irene Fortuyn

View

UNTITLED BRONZE DRIPPINGS (INSTALLATION VIEW)

Cast Bronze

Irene Fortuyn

Irene Fortuyn, Buntings made out of newspaper and polished concrete cast stones, Mending Days (Detail), 2007

MENDING DAYS (DETAIL), 2007

Buntings made out of newspaper and polished concrete cast stones
Irene Fortuyn

View

MENDING DAYS (DETAIL)

Buntings made out of newspaper and polished concrete cast stones

Irene Fortuyn

Solo Shows:

2014 Stigter Van Doesburg, Amsterdam, NL
2010 Sentation Wierdijk Oost, Michaëlskerk, Oosterland. NL
2008 StrawberryFields, Gallery Klerkx, Milan, IT
2007 Mending Days, Galerie Diana Stigter, Amsterdam, NL
2006 Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, US
2002 Slow, Galerie Diana Stigter, Amsterdam. NL
2001 Dolls Housing, Kunstprojekte Riem, Munich, DE
1999 House & Garden, Witte de With, Rotterdam, NL
1999 Haus & Garten, Kunstverein, Hamburg, DE
1998 London Song, The Show Room, London, GB
1997 Collection Spring 1997, Bloom gallery, Amsterdam, NL
1997 Landscapes, Cityscapes, Peoplescapes, Rüdiger Schöttle, München, DE
1997 Scapes, Roger Pailhas, Paris. FR
1994 Casa é Giardino, Sosta Vietata, Museo d’Arte, Sosta Vietata, IT
1994 Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, IT
1993 Udazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL
1993 Entreposage, Galerie Roger Pailhas, Paris, FR
1993 Ladies in a boat (with Arno Vriends), Cave Canem, New York, US
1991 Fortuyn/O’Brien, Galerie Roger Pailhas, Paris, FR
1991 The Living Room, Galerie The Living Room, Amsterdam, NL
1991 Marble Public, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, NL

Group Shows:

2009 Teamwork, Museum De Paviljoens, Almere. NL
2009 Scénographies,de Dan Graham à Hubert Robert,musée de Valence hors les murs et Institut d’art cont,FR
2009 The Cassini Cruise, Gubbelstraat 38, Maastricht, NL
2009 La Boucle et la Spurale, oeuvre de la collection du Frac Bourgogne at Lycée Clos Maire, Beaune, FR
2008 Jardin Theatre Bestiarium, Studio National des Arts Contemporains, Le Fresnoy, FR
2008 NH Verdwijnt, Noord Holland Biennale , NL
2008 Team Work, Museum de Paviljoens, Almere, NL
2007 Contour.Continuiteit met 111 hedendaagse Nederlandse kunstenaars,Museum Nusantara,NL
2006 If it didn’t exist you’d have to invent it: a partial Showroom history, The Showroom, London, GB
2006 L’Art d’une Vie, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Marseille, FR
2003 Imagine, You are standing here in front of me: Caldic Collectie,Museum Boymans van Beuningen, NL
2003 Armour, The Fortification of Man, Fort-Asperen, NL
2003 Happiness: A Survival Guide in Art & Life, Tokyo, JP
2002 Per Saldo: Collectie ABN/AMRO, Noord Brabants Museum, Den Bosch, NL
2000 Lust Warande/Pleasure garden, De Oude Warande, Tilburg, NL
2000 Kunststof(f), Marta Herford, Herford, DE
1998 Light Slow, Galleria Massimo De Carlo, Milan, IT