Clémence Grutering (°1990) is a Belgian craftswoman and artist, living and working in Portugal.

Clémence Grutering studied interior architecture at LUCA school of Arts (Brussels). After investigating various materials such as paper at Isabelle de Borchgrave’s Paper Studio (Brussels) and embracing the concept of “circular” economy with the Brussels based collective ROTOR, she specialized in furniture upholstery in West-Germany and has worked for reknown houses such as Studio Daniel Heer (Berlin) and La Maison Brazet (Brussels). Besides collaborating with Brussels opera house La Monnaie / De Munt she has been studying sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts of Boitsforts under the guidance of Gerald Dederen. She now mainly works on self-initiated projects.

I strongly believe in knowledge you gain trough DIY, in problem-solving through making. Working on different scales and materials is crucial as it pushes me to analyze and conceptualize a project from different perspectives and consider alternatives. More than anything, it is important to me to surround myself with objects that possess a certain fragility or to use materials with a story to focus on more imagination and less on consumption.

“the intelligence of matter […] became the protagonist of the work, and the artist’s hand was there to serve it”

“I am not what I am, I am

what I do with my hands.”

- Giorgio Griffa