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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SISSI WESTERBERG: BECOMING
ROOSTER GALLERY, 190 ORCHARD STREET, LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC
OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, JULY 10, 6 – 8PM
EXHIBITING FROM JULY 10 – AUGUST 3
Sissi Westerberg’s first solo show in New York, Becoming, poses questions about how to be
more, or different, than what you thought you were; how to expand, regress, merge and let go.
The exhibition consists of sculptural objects, videos, installations, photographs and the residue of
private performances. The core of the show is a series of works that feature a female character in
a beige trench coat who, despite her conventional appearance, submits to inappropriate urges. In
the video “Drawing a line”, the character paints a bright pink line on the wall using her pubic hair
as a brush, making the trench coat appear more like a flasher’s coat. The photograph “Tools”
documents an activation of a series of carved wooden objects that are somewhere between
sticks and extensions of the body.
The works evoke questions of gender and the role of the contemporary female body, but also of
the body in relation to man made objects, nature and the primal aspects of our selves.
Sissi Westerberg is a Swedish artist, whose work spans sculpture, installation and perfomances
that are documented through photography and video. She received her MFA from Konstfack
University of Arts, Crafts and design in Stockholm and has also studied at the Betzalel Academy
in Jerusalem. Westerberg currently teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence
RI. In the summer, she co-directs an artist-in-residency program in rural Sweden through the
non-profit organization Rejmyre Art LAB.
“Sissi Westerberg: Becoming” benefits from the support of The Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s
International Programme for Visual Artists.
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SISSI WESTERBERG Born in 1975 in Stockholm, Sweden.
EDUCATION
1997-2002 Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Metal Craft and Jewellery - MFA 2002
1999-2000 Bezalel Academy of Arts Jerusalem, Israel
Department of Jewellery and Accessories - Exchange studies
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2014 Becoming, Rooster Gallery Contemporary Art, New York
A house of ones own, Östergötlands Museum, Linköping, Sweden
2013 Becoming, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Sweden
2012 Kontakt, Galleri Skådebanan, Linköping, Sweden
2011 Becoming, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (with Daniel Peltz)
I am open, Eskilstuna Konstmuseum, Sweden
2005 Inside Out – Galleri Platina – Stockholm, Sweden
GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2014 Avesta Art, Avesta, Sweden
2012 Vårsalongen, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
Rejmyre Art LAB, installations in public space, Rejmyre, Sweden
2010 Loot, Museum of Art and Design, New York
Hit my Eye, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
Lingam, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrech, Netherlands
2009 Så in i Norden, Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Ringvormen, Stenpunt Beelde Kunst Zwevegem, Belgium
New Swedish Jewellery, Fashion and Textile Museum, London, UK
2008 There is a Visitor # 2, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Sweden
Memories of the North, Galleri S12, Bergen, Norway
2007 Tendenser, Galleri F12 Moss, Norway
Building a City for Women - Fear & Adornment, Lugar a Dudas, Cali, Colombia
Souvenirs, Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter, Svolvaer, Norway
Rejmyre Matters, Engelska Magasinet. Rejmyre, Sweden
2006 Fair Exhange, Millard Sheets Gallery at the L.A. County Fair – Los Angeles
Made in Scandinavia, National Touring Exhibitions – Norway
Koru 2, South Karelia Art Museum – Lappeenranta, Finland
Civic Matters, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions - Los Angeles
2005 This Burns!, Svensk Form - Stockholm, Sweden
Omform, Galaxen - Borlänge, Sweden
Vägskäl 2005, Kulturhuset - Leksand, Sweden
Vårsalongen, Liljevalchs Konsthall – Stockholm, Sweden
Translations with S U B, De Appel Foundation – Amsterdam ● Swedish Society of Crafts and Design / Svensk Form –
Stockholm ● Parapeten – Helsingborg ● Kulturhuset – Stockholm ● Kulturcentrum – Hallonbergen, Sweden
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2011 Cemeti Art House - Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2010 Art Space, Sydney, Australia
2008 Kunstnerhuset/Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter, Svolvaer, Norway
2007 Lugar a Dudas, Cali, Colômbia
2005 Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA
GRANTS
Swedish Arts Grants Committee - Two year work grant 2010-2012
Östergötlands Kulturstipendium - Regional culture grant 2010
Helge Axelsson Johnsons Stiftelse 2010
Kjell and Märta Beijer Fund – Project Grant 2008
Swedish-Norwegian Exchange Fund – Artist in Residency Grant 2008
Nordic Culture Point – Mobility Grant 2007
Swedish Arts Grants Committee - Project Grant (with SUB) 2006
Swedish Arts Grants Committee - Two year work grant 2003-2005
Sleipnir – Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art 2004, 2006
IASPIS - International Culture Exchange 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011
Estrid Ericsons Stiftelse 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
Helge Axelsson Johnson Stiftelse 2003
Konstfacks Stiftelser – Graduate Diploma 2002
Stiftelsen Gustav och Ida Unmans Donationsfond 2001
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway
Eskilstuna konstmuseum, Eskilstuna, Sweden
Östergötlands museum, Linköping, Sweden
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