Sally von Rosen

Sally von Rosen’s artistic practice spans sculpture, performance, drawing and painting, with a focus on exploring political ecology and the material relationships between subjects and objects. Her sculptures often manifest as hybrid forms, balancing liveliness and morbidity, rawness and refinement, while her performances act as conceptual extensions of these sculptural pieces. A recurring element in her work is the playful yet unsettling quality of her sculptures, which challenge the viewer’s perception by suggesting movement and intention.

Inspired by Jane Bennett’s Vibrant Matter, von Rosen investigates the vitality of materials and their ability to evoke emotional and intellectual responses. Her works explore contrasts between the natural and the fantastical, fostering dialogues about humanity’s connection to the unknown and the future. Through materials like bronze, aluminum and painterly surfaces, she creates works that resonate in both urban and natural settings, blending organic and mechanical elements to evoke curiosity and reflection.

Her practice highlights the importance of treating objects as vibrant entities, engaging audiences in narratives that transcend traditional boundaries between the animate and inanimate, and sparking reflections on our shared existence and environment.

Sally von Rosen (b. 1994, Gothenburg, Sweden) lives and works in Berlin. She has presented solo exhibitions at von Der Hoeden Contemporary (Hamburg), Wentrup Gallery (Berlin), MEGA Foundation (Stockholm) and Trauma Bar und Kino (Berlin), among others. In 2023, her installation MAIN BODY at Trauma Bar und Kino featured headless sculptural creatures arranged in a frozen tableau, investigating the intersections of absurdity, the unknown and the human condition. von Rosen has also participated in group exhibitions at notable institutions including Kunsthal Aarhus (Denmark), Kunsthalle Recklinghausen (Germany), Kunstraum Bethanien (Berlin), Schinkel Pavillon (Berlin) and Kunstfort bij Vijfhuizen (Amsterdam), among others.

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