Rolina Nell - Galerie Postpartum

Rolina Nell

Exhibition Humanoids
13-06-2026 -31-08-2026

Wousje 2020 203x113cm

Die Arbeiterin, 2019, 150x70cm

Zonder titel, 2016, 20x30cm

Rolina Nell – Humanoids

Rolina Nell gives form to women who embody the tension between expectation, labour, and memory. Characteristic of her practice is that she portrays almost exclusively women, whose faces are often hidden or turned away. This deliberate stylisation creates a subtle tension between presence and reserve, between revelation and protection.

For Humanoids, she presents works from three different series, together offering a layered reflection on contemporary vulnerability and resilience.

In the drawing Wousje (from the series Expectation), she captures a moment of quiet, charged anticipation. The young girl appears both protected and exposed, her face turned away—a delicate balance between an inner world and the pressures of the outside world.

The large painting from the series Die Arbeiterin depicts a female metalworker holding a welding torch. Here, the intense light of the flame breaks through the prevailing restraint: it illuminates not only the metal but also her face—a rare, almost dramatic moment of recognition and physical presence.

She also presents a selection of smaller works from the series Armed Angels. Traditional regional bonnets and headscarves both adorn and protect these figures. They convey an elegant, subtly theatrical sense of estrangement: rooted in local history, yet transformed into contemporary, almost mythical presences.

Nell's practice combines a sensitive and sincere attention to texture and human presence with subtle stylisation and restraint. Her female figures inhabit a space between openness and reserve, everyday reality and archetypal elegance. By weaving together tradition and contemporary experience through carefully composed, at times theatrical imagery, she creates a distinctly contemporary sensibility that is both intimate and detached.

With this selection of works, Galerie Postpartum opens a space in which the human remains simultaneously fragile and monumental, poised between protection and exposure, memory and transformation.

Biography

Rolina Nell graduated from Minerva Academy in Groningen in 2001. Since then, she has exhibited regularly in the Netherlands and abroad. Her work emerges through the rhythm of discovering new places and the quiet focus of her studio or artist residencies.

Her practice is rooted in observation and in her interaction with her surroundings and everyday life. Intuition and imagination play an essential role throughout her work. This way of seeing originated in her childhood, where she learned to read the world through silences, glances, and subtle gestures. That sensitivity continues to form the foundation of her artistic practice.

Drawing on her own experience as a woman, women and girls occupy a central place in her work. She is fascinated by the subtle, culturally shaped gestures and postures of women, which reveal individuality despite their quiet expression. The often-hidden faces leave room for interpretation, allowing identity to remain open and the past to remain perceptible. Almost in a whisper, she brings this presence into the present through drawings, paintings, and installations.

Alongside her artistic practice, Rolina also works as a curator. Since 2008, she has been involved with the id11 Foundation, where she organises temporary exhibitions and artist residencies alongside her own work. In 2013, the organisation relocated to a farmhouse in the Noordoostpolder, and in 2021 id11 continued its activities at the Bierumer School. In 2025, together with id11, she initiated new projects based in the St. John's Church in Morra. From 2026 onwards, this will also be the location of her new studio.

In addition, Rolina is an active member of the artists' platform about A woman and works as an assistant to artist Lily van der Stokker.

EDUCATION

1997–2001
BA Fine Arts, Minerva Art Academy | Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen the Netherlands
1988–1992
BA Teacher Education in Fine Art and Design | NHL University of Applied Sciences, Leeuwarden the Netherlands

SOLO AND DUO EXHIBITIONS

2024
Rolina Nell & Atty Kingma Gallery De Kolk, Spaarndam the Netherlands
Troost Feest van de Geest Sebastianus church, Noordwolde the Netherlands
veerKRACHT Solte Campe, Zoutkamp the Netherlands (& Josefien Alkema)
Der Arbeiter tanzt nicht, der Arbeiter arbeitet KEIK, Groningen the Netherlands
2023
Dorien De Portiersloge, Groningen the Netherlands
Monnikenwerk Andreas Church, Eenum the Netherlands
hink-stap-sprong Kunstpunt, Groningen the Netherlands
2022
Open studio Van Gogh AiR | Atelier De Moeren, Zundert the Netherlands
album CBK Rensenpark, Emmen the Netherlands
2021
Home is where temporary shelters for my paintings spread across the country the Netherlands
2019
zij zei Dat Bolwerck, Zutphen the Netherlands
Maandag Wasdag City Museum Harderwijk, Harderwijk the Netherlands
2018
Maandag Wasdag Vischpoort Museum Elburg, Elburg the Netherlands
2017
Female Vrijhof Gallery | University of Twente, Enschede the Netherlands
Marit Dik & Rolina Nell Hommes Gallery, Rotterdam the Netherlands
Rolina Nell & Anna Skubisz Ann’s Art, Groningen the Netherlands
2016
gestippeld, gestreept, geruit en verbloemd Museum Schokland, Schokland the Netherlands (& Guda Koster)
terugblik Gallery het Gemaal, Echten the Netherlands
wat er is WTC Rotterdam Art Gallery, Rotterdam the Netherlands (& José Krijnen)
2014
Staan, wachten, treuzelen, hangen, lummelen Theater ‘t Voorhuys, Emmeloord the Netherlands
2012
Rolina Nell & Lie van der Werff Hommes Gallery, Rotterdam the Netherlands
Zitten, staan, hangen, lummelen DOK Kunst, Delft the Netherlands
2011
Uit Zicht Salon #17 TAC | PEK, Eindhoven the Netherlands (& Anouk Bax)
daarentegen Gallery Ruimte Remmelink, Delft the Netherlands
2010
op_LOCATIE id11 Museum-night Delft, former shop, Delft the Netherlands (& Désirée de Baar)
op het tweede gezicht Gallery Castle of Rhoon, Rotterdam the Netherlands
2009
Voorbijgaand De Overslag, Eindhoven the Netherlands
HusH ArtUnit, Haarlem the Netherlands
2008
been everywhere, seen everything Minerva Art Academy, Groningen the Netherlands
been everywhere, seen everything LittleBird Gallery, Los Angeles USA
2007
Exclude I Singalong | Andrejsala, Riga Latvia
Indian Times Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad India
Appearance Paradise International Art Centre | shops at the Pirozi Street neighbourhood, Tehran Iran
Sareckhi Art Villa Garikula, Akhalkalaki Georgia
2006
‘t wasgoed De Verschijning, Tilburg the Netherlands
Familie sandersgeluk | Het Groot Handelsgebouw, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (& Maaike Sietszema)
2005
de Schone Schijn Magazijn Vomberg gallery, Rotterdam the Netherlands
2004
From dusk till dawn de Nederlandsche Cacaofabriek, Helmond the Netherlands (& Bérénice Staiger)
to Hell and Back studio DSPS, Rotterdam the Netherlands (& Marian Brugman)
2001
Insignific SIGN, Groningen the Netherlands (& Buxus: Jan Bokma & Alex Winters)
Rolina Nell Museum Nagele, Nagele the Netherlands

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Gallery for metamodern mannerism

Contemporary sensibilities and peripheral aesthetics