20 Years of Sculpture Network: Irene Anton

As part of our 20th anniversary, we’re highlighting important Sculpture Network members of our community. Irene Anton is a multitalented designer, textile artist and sculptor whose practice has continued to grow and evolve alongside Sculpture Network.

Irene Anton’s (1966, Darmstadt) artistic practice is born out of her previous experience as an Industrial Designer working with textiles. She studied Industrial Design with a focus on fashion and textiles at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) and later a master’s degree with a focus on museum and exhibition studies, and community art / art in public space. This background continues to inform her approach, allowing her sculptures to evolve through materials, locations and processes.

Her practice brings together material sensitivity, spatial awareness, and a strong interest in context, both social and geographical. As a member of Sculpture Network for more than a decade, Anton’s artistic journey reflects the importance of exchange, mobility, and international dialogue that the network has fostered over the past twenty years.

Anton’s recent work focuses primarily on objects and installations, both outdoors and indoors, often engaging with natural forces and the power of the elements. Textile materials play a recurring role in her practice. She employs traditional techniques to produce contemporary sculptural forms, using textiles in ways that are not immediately recognizable and only reveal themselves upon closer inspection. This strategic ambiguity underscores her interest in material transformation and perceptual shifts.

Material flexibility and sustainability are central to Anton’s approach. Recycling and reuse form an important conceptual layer in her work, alongside a strong emphasis on sensory experience. Her installations activate the viewer through texture, structure, sound, and reflections of light, creating immersive environments that invite bodily and emotional engagement. The sensual dimension of her practice is fundamental: works are conceived to be perceived with all the senses. Her relief series, for example, would be particularly suited to exhibitions designed for blind or visually impaired audiences. Balancing conceptual rigor with openness to process, Anton’s works often exist as evolving constellations rather than fixed outcomes.

Art in public space also plays a key role in her practice. For Anton, working outside the “white cube” is a conscious strategy to reduce barriers to access and to position art as a shared, inclusive experience rather than an elitist one. Whether situated in natural landscapes or urban environments, her works invite encounters that are immediate, tactile, and grounded in lived experience.

For many years she has worked as a touring artist. Being a Sculpture Network member has allowed her the flexibility to travel and exhibit her work whilst still staying connected across Europe.

Anton has been an active Sculpture Network member for over 10 years. She has participated in many opportunities, open calls and events offered by Sculpture Network.

“Sculpture Network is crucial to interact and exchange ideas with other colleagues. The opportunities it offers are important for advancing your career, travelling as an artist, and getting to know colleagues and artistic approaches all from other countries and cultures,” said Anton.

Anton has also given back to the Sculpture Network community and used to regularly translate the Sculpture Network Newsletter between German and English. 

Across disciplines, materials, and contexts, Irene Anton’s practice exemplifies a sustained commitment to exploration, exchange, and openness. Her work is rooted in textile thinking yet unfolding in spatial, social, and public contexts. This mirrors the ethos of Sculpture Network as a platform built on dialogue, mobility, and shared learning. As Sculpture Network celebrates its 20th anniversary, Anton’s artistic journey stands as a testament to how long-term engagement within an international community can foster artistic growth, experimentation, and a deeply embodied understanding of contemporary sculpture.

Myfawny wrote this text in English.