Esther Janssen
°1976, The Netherlands
Lives and works in Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Esther Janssen is a visual artist based in the Netherlands. She graduated cum laude from the Design Academy Eindhoven, where she developed an interdisciplinary approach that continues to inform her practice.
Janssen has exhibited extensively in the Netherlands and internationally. Her work is held in private collections across Europe, Asia, and the United States. She is represented by Unit London, where her solo exhibition Silence attracted international attention and sold out.
Working across painting, relief, and textile-based techniques, Janssen has developed a distinctive visual language in which painted artificial leather is cut, layered, and hand-sewn onto canvas. This labor-intensive process combines the precision of design with the tactility of craft, resulting in works that occupy a space between image and object.
Throughout her career, Janssen has remained committed to exploring the relationship between material, perception, and contemporary culture. Her work continues to evolve through ongoing investigations into landscape, cultivation, and the psychological dimensions of the built environment.
Selected exhibitions:
Solo exhibitions:
2021, Silence, Unit London Gallery, London (UK)
2019, A Potential Disaster, LABOR Projektgalerie, Cologne (DE)
2016, Chroma Key, Esther Janssen, Alx 51 Gallery, Maastricht (NL)
2013, Extreme Make0ver, Alex51 Gallery, Maastricht (NL)
2012, Esther Janssen, Municipal Museum Helmond (NL)
2010, Swell, Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Amsterdam (NL)
2008, Esther Janssen, Sergio Tossi Arte Contemporanea, Florence (IT)
2007, Esther Janssen, DSM Kunstcollectie, Heerlen (NL)
2004, Modelworld, Homeworks, Maastricht (NL)
Group exhibitions:
2025, Fernweh, Barbé Gallery, Gent (BE)
2023, Art Tokyo artfair with Unit London, Tokyo (JPN)
2023, 10 years Unit London, London (UK)
2022, Playground of Geometry, CICA Vancouver (CAN)
2022, Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair 2022 with Asia Art Center (CHN)
2021, The Artsy Vanguard 2021, Miami Art Week, Miami, Florida (USA)
2020, Limburg Biënnale, Marres center for Contemporary Art, Maastricht (NL)
2020, F R E Q U E N C Y, Philipp von Rosen Galerie Cologne (DE)
2017, In het land van Maas en IJ, Privinciehuis Haarlem (NL)
2017, Conversations #1 -Esther Janssen - Miriam Gossing and Lina Sieckmann, Buitenplaats Wijlre (NL)
2016, Bronsgroen Eikenhout, Bureau Europa, Maastrich (NL)
2014, Chamber Collection no. 1, Chamber Gallery, New York (USA)
2014, It’s a Miracle!, Anton Beeke and 10 of his students, Piet Hein Eek Gallery, Eindhoven (NL)
2012, Jongeren als curator, Municipal Museum Purmerend (NL)
2012, Art Rotterdam, presentation Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam (NL)
2011, Changing Places, Van Kranendonk Gallery, The Hague (NL)
2010, Art Basel, presentation Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Miami (NL)
2009, Art Rotterdam, presentation Cokkie Snoei Gallery Snoei, Rotterdam (NL)
2008, The Digital View 6.20, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam (NL)
2008, Art Rotterdam, presentation Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam (NL)
2008, Art Athina, presentation Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Athens (GR)
2007, Muskee, Waterschoot, Tollens, Janssen: It’s a sex issue, Flatland Gallery, Utrecht (NL)
2006, Art Cologne, presentation Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Cologne (DE)
2006, Welkom in Hedonia, Artotheek Rotterdam / (CBK), Rotterdam (NL)
2006, Met Stip, GEM, Municipal Museum The Hague (NL)
2006, Art Rotterdam, presentation Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam (NL)
2005, Opacity, Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam (NL)
2004, Modelworld, Homeworks, Maastricht (NL)
2003, SMLXL, Galerie MAMA, Rotterdam (NL)