About

SIJBEN ROSA

They/them. Living and working in Amsterdam and Lisbon. Born in Alkmaar (NL) on 7 August 1988.

mail@sijbenrosa.nl / Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn

Visual artist Sijben Rosa makes objects and choreographs the situation around them using performative means. Sijben creates objects that seem to have a purpose, yet their exact practical functionality remains unknown. This ambiguity creates an oasis within the efficiency of everyday life. The objects do not claim a purpose, they claim space for nothing. And in doing so, they actually create space – for thinking, speaking, for simply existing without the need for purpose, a vacuum that allows something new to emerge. Sijben ultimately aims for an artistic practice that deals with the social, economic and aesthetic status of objects, contemplating the interplay between objecthood and personhood – a practice that essentially makes us aware of our own position amongst other people and other objects.

Sijben Rosa (1988, Alkmaar, NL) graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2012, winning the ‘Fine Arts Award’, the Fine Arts department prize for best graduation candidate. Since then they have done several residencies, in Basel (CH), Mönchengladbach (DE), Dro (IT) and Leeuwarden (NL). Their work has been exhibited in The Netherlands and abroad, amongst others at Biquini Wax Mexico City, Kunstverein Düsseldorf, Museum van Loon Amsterdam, KW Berlin, Salt Istanbul, CAB Brussels, De Appel Amsterdam, SculptureCenter New York City. Sijben Rosa currently lives and works in Amsterdam and Lisbon and teaches at various art academies in the Netherlands.

This website was designed and built by Lagentedelcomún with the help of Boetie Zijlstra during her internship. Copywriting by Harriet Foyster. Portrait of Sijben by Lucas Damiani.

Information about internships with Sijben can be found here.

Sijben’s practice is currently supported by the Stipendium for Established Artists from the Mondriaan Fund.