Carla Arocha and Stéphane Schraenen have collaborated as the artist duo Arocha-Schraenen since 2006, following individual careers in the arts. Working across media—including painting, drawing, photography, print, and installation—they are internationally recognized for their immersive, large-scale mirrored sculptures and modular installations. Rooted in the traditions of geometric abstraction and optical art, Arocha-Schraenen’s practice engages with everyday objects, stripping them of their function to reduce them to their most essential forms. Reflection, repetition, and illusion are central themes in their work, challenging viewers' perceptions of space and reality. Their installations often blur the boundary between solid form and reflected image, exploring the tension between surface and depth, object and facsimile. Through this nuanced visual language, Arocha-Schraenen interrogate the complexities of contemporary visual culture and the persistent interplay between representation and abstraction.
Arocha (b.1961, Caracas, Venezuela) received a degree in Biology from St. Xavier University, Chicago in 1986, and received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1991, followed by her MFA from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1994. Schraenen (b.1971, Antwerp, Belgium) attended Higher Institute for Communication Management of the Province of Antwerp in 1992, and graduated from Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp in 1996. The two began collaborating publicly in 2007 with their exhibition Mauraders at moniquemeloche. Since then, their collaborative practice has been featured in major international exhibitions, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium (2024); the Busan Biennale, Republic of Korea (2024); Museum of Fine Arts Split, Croatia (2019); Fondazione Prada, Italy (2018); XIV Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador (2018); Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Belgium (2016); CC Mechelen, Belgium (2014); Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, MO (2013); The Wallace Collection, UK (2011); and at: FRAC Auvergne, France (2006).
Work by Carla Arocha and Stéphane Schraenen is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Art Institute of Chicago, IL; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami, FL; Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos CAB, Burgos, Spain; FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France; and Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Belgium. Their works are permanently installed in the Chicago Transit Center, IL; in Belgium at Hof Ter Leenen, Nevele; Tekbroek Nature Park, Puurs-Sint-Amands; and the Campus Coppens, Brasschaat.