Pressmeddelande -
Färgfabriken presents Roland Persson's exhibition Being Mortal Hurts
Färgfabriken presents the exhibition Being Mortal Hurts by artist Roland Persson. This exhibition features silicone sculptures exploring human vulnerability and nature’s struggle for survival. It is the most extensive presentation of Persson’s work to date, showcasing pieces created over nearly three decades. The exhibition is on display from April 5 to June 15.
In this spring’s major solo exhibition at Färgfabriken, Stockholm-based artist Roland Persson is presented, currently nominated for Finland’s largest art award, Ars Fennica. The exhibition, titled Being Mortal Hurts, is the most extensive presentation of Roland Persson’s work to date and features silicone sculptures created over nearly three decades.
Welcome to the press preview
Friday 4 April, 13.00-14.00, Main Hall, Färgfabriken
Contact emilia@fargfabriken.se to register interest in the press preview or book an interview.
In Being Mortal Hurts, we are invited into a poetic and unsettling dreamlike exhibition. The title reflects human vulnerability and the traces it leaves in our lives. It is a beautiful yet brutal visual world, filled with stories of broken relationships, memories, and dreams. In recent years, Roland Persson has explored nature as a projection surface for our desires and our attempts to mend what has been broken. As seen in the work Remorse From Far Away (2021), a gigantic cactus whose roots search for water.
The newly produced work Body of Medusa (2025), completes a trio of monstrous water lilies that will be shown together for the first time. Medusa refers to the creature in Greek mythology who turned anyone who looked at her to stone with her gaze—a process that echoes Persson’s method of capturing nature in a frozen moment.
The experimentation with silicone as a material has become central to Persson’s work and a crucial part of his visual expression. By casting real-life models, plants, and animals, he then continues with a painterly process that creates an eerily hyperrealistic effect.
"I was looking for a material that could embody color. I used to paint sculptures in aluminum, but I didn’t like that the color was merely applied. Then I found transparent silicone, which allowed me to mix the color directly into the material itself. It was so incredibly malleable that it felt uncanny—disgusting and base in a way, a slippery anti-material, something considered lowly as a sculptural material." – Roland Persson on working with silicone.
Being Mortal Hurts invites us to reflect on how we treat ourselves and nature, reminding us of nature’s struggle for survival.
About Roland Persson
Roland Persson (b. 1963 in Hudiksvall) is an artist educated at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts. He lives and works in Värmdö, Stockholm. Persson works with sculpture and drawing, emerging from a meticulous exploration of nature. His work is represented in around 50 private and public collections in Sweden and Finland. He has participated in the Liverpool Biennial (2021), exhibited at the Ostrobothnian Museum in Vaasa (2023), and in 2025, he will present two exhibitions in Helsinki—at Amos Rex and later in the fall at HAM—as one of five artists nominated for Finland’s most prestigious visual arts award, Ars Fennica.
Roland Persson – Being Mortal Hurts
The exhibition runs from 5 April to 15 June
Solo exhibition, Main Hall
Opening on 5 April, 11.00–16.00.
14.00 an opening speech by Färgfabriken’s director, Anna-Karin Wulgué, followed by a conversation with the artist Roland Persson.
Curator: Anna-Karin Wulgé och Emilia Rosenqvist
Program
Guided tour with the artist
Friday 15 May, 13.00–14.00, Main Hall, Färgfabriken
Drop-in, no prior registration required. Limited seating. Included in the admission fee.
Kulturnatt Stockholm
Saturday 26 April, 18.00–24.00, Färgfabriken
The exhibition will be on display in the Main Hall throughout the evening. Twice during the night, Roland Persson’s band In Your Mind will perform a musical dialogue within the exhibition. Read more on Färgfabriken’s website.
