Madlen Hirtentreu

Artist's country of origin: Estonia

Madlen Hirtentreu is an artist working in the realms of fine and performing arts. She graduated from the IED University of Milan with a degree in visual culture and economics (BA) and from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a degree in installation and sculpture (MA). Hirtentreu’s artistic inquiry delves into objects and media, exploring how they, in their evocative essence, compete with the presence of the human body.

Madlen Hirtentreu works mainly with sculpture, installations and performances. Primal horizon, brutality, repetition and clinical conditions intrigue her, a tiny dose of each might be the recipe. The eeriness of the unknown which in close up reveals signs of fragility by opening up new readings and meanings in untied time. Her technique can be described as a Frankenstein-like combination of technology and body horror, where the abject and the mechanical system function as a unified tandem. The absurd, seemingly messy and eclectic choice of material serves as a document and carrier of emotions.