Born in 1981, Swedish artist Ida Rödén hold a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Umeå Konsthögskola, a master’s degree in fine arts from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, as well as a master’s degree in the history of art from Stockholm University. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally including venues such as Liljevalchs Konsthall and Björkholmen Gallery in Stockholm, Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sundsvalls Konstmuseum, OpenART in Örebro, Bærum Kunsthall in Norway, NordArt in Büdelsdorf, Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen, The FILE Electronic Language International Festival in Sao Paolo, Center on Contemporary Art in Seattle, and Southern Exposure as well as the Wattis Institute in San Francisco. She lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ida Rödén’s work is often based on a question. In drawing, painting, text and ceramics, she builds worlds to broaden her understanding. In recent years, she has worked with the fictional scientist Jonas Falck – she has cataloged unusual discoveries in nature around Kultsjön, on Fårö and most recently in Norra kvarken: “I sometimes have a hard time describing my relationship with Jonas Falck – at times we are one and the same, other days he is distant as a shadow, but most of the time he is my closest conversation partner. Jonas Falck is great companion to experienced the world with, anything is possible.”
Published books:
In Jonas Falcks vetenskapliga iakttagelser I gather my thoughts and experiences that have arisen in the company of Jonas Falck. With the help of detailed drawings of mutated animals at Kultsjön, extinct aquatic creatures from Fårö, and peculiar mushrooms around the Northern Quark, a world full of possibilities is revealed. But the truth is elusive, the deviations are many. Sometimes, imagination and hope take over, and all answers to the question of who Jonas Falck was remain beyond reach. The book is written in Swedish.
Artist of Melt is my account from an expedition, conducted aboard the icebreaker Oden in 2023. The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat recognizes that artists have a distinct approach to reality, enriching life aboard research vessels and extending the expedition s reach beyond its conclusion. I became the 37th artist to participate in their artist program. By painting at least one image daily, I came to know the boat, the crew, the scientists, and the ice. My collection of watercolors gradually increased, eventually culminating in this book – an artist s observations from a voyage through a dreamy and lingering world of ice. The book is written in Swedish and English.