About Quirijn
Quirijn Menken is a visual artist and independent researcher with a deep fascination for the ways images shape perception. Rooted in both artistic practice and academic inquiry, Quirijn crafts visual narratives that challenge how we see and understand the world around us.
Visual Artist and Independent Artistic Researcher
How we perceive and interpret images – and the way they shape our beliefs – is of increasing importance. In art education especially, developing a critical awareness of visual culture is essential. The Bilderatlas serves as a tool for mediation, offering alternative ways of seeing and knowing. Inspired by Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas, this format presents art history without words, allowing the arrangement of images – and the spaces between them – to open new perspectives.
This approach resonates with artists such as Gerhard Richter, and thinkers like Walter Benjamin, who used similar methods to interrogate the function of images within cultural memory.
As an independent artistic researcher, Quirijn Menken developed and tested a tool to foster criticality toward visual culture. By conducting experimental workshops with art students, he explored the pedagogical potential of the Bilderatlas, combining this with concepts from Critical Pedagogy and the work of theorist Irit Rogoff (University of London).
Building on these explorations, Quirijn introduced a new method: A Pedagogy of Difference and Repetition, inspired by the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. This framework forms the foundation for his ongoing PhD research, which combines theory with artistic interventions and visual experiments.
The full dissertation is available for free download:
👉 Constellating Images – ResearchGate
Work
Reimagine Art
