Erwin Driessens (b.1963, Wessem, the Netherlands)
Maria Verstappen (b. 1964, Someren, the Netherlands)
Artists, researchers. Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts (Maastricht) and Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Their work focuses on the development of author software, mechanized objects and interactive installations. Driessens and Verstappen have participated in numerous exhibitions within contemporary art museums, galleries and festivals, including Palais des Arts (Toulouse), Galeria d’Arte Moderna (Bologna), Bonnefantenmuseum (Maastricht), the Artspace Visual Arts Center (Sydney), Erasmushuis Djakarta (Jakarta), Eyebeam Atelier (New York), Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo (Seville), Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain (Luxembourg), Kroller-Muller Museum (Otterlo), Neue Pinakothek (Munich), Medienturm (Graz), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), George Eastman House (Rochester), SIGGRAPH (Los Angeles, 2004), VIDA (1999, 2001, 2003) and in Lille’ 2004 – Cultural Capital of Europe. Driessens and Verstappen’s works have been exhibited at contemporary international art fairs such as: FIAC Paris (1999), Art Cologne (2001), Art Brussels (2001, 2002), Art Forum Berlin (2002, 2005, 2007), ARCO Madrid (2003), Art Amsterdam (2004, 2005, 2007). They have participated in international electronic art conferences, among them: WIRE 2000 (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh), Second Iteration (Monash University, Melbourne), Big Blip 04 (Briton University, Briton), Unsorted, SonicActsX (Amsterdam) and Batteries not included, mind as machine (international symposium on AI, Shrewsbury). Their works are part of collections, including FRAC Lorraine (Metz), FNAC (Paris), Centraal Musem (Utrecht), Akzo Nobel Art Foundation (Arnheim), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam), Netherlands Media Art Institute (Amsterdam). Driessens and Verstappen were awarded first prize winners at international competition on Art & Artificial Life VIDA 2.0 (1999) and VIDA 5.0 (2001) in Madrid (Spain).