Andrea van der Straeten (b. 1953 in Trier, Germany) chooses and implements a respective style for her works from a broad sectrum of cematic, photgraphic, installation-based, graphic, auditive and performative techniques. In doing so she analyses the respective media as well as processes and functional contexts within the art itself. She repeatedly pursues her concept for a work by refering to a story, which becomes manifest at particular points in history. The referential space here is defined as a broad spectrum that includes women’s and gender issues, biographical moments and political events as well as local and literary sources, and extends to the history of art and institutions. This referencing and artistic re-working of reference material takes the form of deconstructing history as a fixed narrative form. The artist proves to employ a particular precision in her choice of subject matter in this field and be sensitive to connections and contexts.
Van der Straeten completed her studies in German Literature and Political Sciences in Marburg near Frankfurt as well as studies in Visual Communication at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg. She lives and works in Vienna, Austria since a postgraduate year at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. From 2002 – 2018 she was professor and head of the department for Experimental Art at the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz. Her work is held in various private and public collections in Europe.