Pat Foster and Jen Berean

Pat Foster and Jen Berean have been working collaboratively since 2001. Pat received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2004 and his Honors in 2005, from the VCA. Jen received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2001, and a Bachelor of Architecture in 2006, both from RMIT.

Since then they have undertaken projects and interventions at numerous gallery and museum spaces, as well as realizing projects outside of the traditional institutions. Employing a diverse and lateral array of media and processes, their work is primarily investigative, rigorously unpicking the hidden systems that make up the sites and infrastructure that surrounds us. Within such thinking, contemporary architecture is deconstructed to such a degree that it is not solely concerned with the making of functional and utilizable space, but crucially, the determination of how, and by whom such space is used by, and for what purpose. 

It is within the juncture of physical environment and psychological effect that their practice is primarily concerned and manifests within an art context. Their intellectual concerns translate into aesthetic experiences that encourage, indeed entice, audiences into a relationship with the work and the space itself.

Recent shows include Can’t Stand Up, For Falling Down, Murray White Room, Melbourne; ART #1, Shepparton Art Gallery, Shepparton;The Problem with Stability, Pallas Contemporary Projects, Dublin; NEW09 Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; On Public, Ryan Renshaw Gallery, Brisbane; Problem Solving: Espress Yourself, Uplands Gallery; SCAPE Biennial of Public Art, Christchurch Art Gallery; Structural Decline, Melbourne Art Fair ’08.

Jen and Pat's work has been featured in various publications, including Artlink, Photofile, Art World, Art and Australia and Frieze.