Cajsa von Zeipel

Cajsa von Zeipel is a New York-based contemporary Swedish sculptor whose work delves into gender, identity, queerness, and normativity. Initially working with large-scale white plaster sculptures, her recent work has seen her leaving the reference to classical sculpture, instead developing an even more complex technique. Zeipel nowadays constructs her female figures in pastel-coloured silicone in an evocation of sci-fi and fantasy aesthetics. The silicone –a material that is common in implants, sex toys, and kitchen equipment– brings her sculptures to life. Beneath the silicone there are parts of mannequins, objects that are typically used to construct desire in capitalist spaces. By sawing off limbs and reconnecting disparate pieces, Zeipel destroys their normative bodies, and, rather than statically holding clothes, these reconfigured forms take on uncanny movements. Limbs shake, fingers bend, skin wrinkles, and mouths fall in a manner that mimics our own physicality.

Zeipel received her MFA from the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, in 2010, and has also studied at the prestigious Städelschule in Frankfurt, Germany (2008-2009). In 2013 Zeipel relocated to New York, NY, U.S.A., where she currently resides, working in a studio on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Here, in a spacious, loft-like factory floor, Zeipel creates her oversized, colour-intensive sculptures, in which she deals with topics such as gender equality, sexual identity, and feminine provocation, often sourcing material (in the guise of bootleg, counterfeit and grey-market goods) from nearby Canal Street.

Zeipel’s early monochrome large-scale plaster sculptures depicting slender-limbed women have (rather unfairly), from time to time, been criticised as reflecting unhealthy female body ideals, representing the slender female body as the result of eating disorders. That Zeipel’s early work should rather be regarded as a critique of these ideals was, however, highlighted in the motivation that accompanied Zeipel’s 2012 grant, awarded by the Sten A Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture:

Cajsa von Zeipel allows her choice of material - the white plaster - to become an intervention against the supposedly eternal truth, carved in white marble. Against the backdrop of art history and its monuments, which have traditionally depicted male heroes on an oversized scale, the artist’s upgrading of the depicted woman becomes a commentary on power structures and established systems of representation. Using the formal language of classical sculpture, the works draw their motifs from contemporary life and various youth cultures. In the young woman’s androgynously depicted body and transgressive gender identity, the viewer encounters today’s tall and anorexic beauty ideals. Cajsa von Zeipel’s sculptures can be seen as a kind of subversive statement, engaging in a dialogue about power, gender and identity in the public space.

Having explored the possibilities inherent in plaster, Zeipel then turned her attention to silicone, creating expressive and colourful sculptures adorned with glitter and various pieces of contemporary urban street fashion. Zeipel’s technical prowess is evident in these extraterrestrial sculptures. As opposed to her earlier tall, white sculptures in plaster, the new ones are messy and almost grotesque. They seem to float beyond their human boundaries, becoming futuristic bodies, merging the human body with all kinds of stuff, and becoming a new kind of species.

Over the years Zeipel has carried out several prestigious public commissions and installations like F-able Dimensions Variable, Akademiska Hus & KiWi, University Park Campus, Valla, Linköping, Sweden (2009); Pretty Vacant, a monumental sculpture for shopping mall Mood, Stockholm (2012); Hello, Goodbye, a monumental sculpture for roundabout, Linköping municipality, Sweden (2013); and Stamina, a monumental sculpture for Swedish bank SEB headquarters, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Arenastaden/Solna, Sweden (2017).

Zeipel is represented in, amongst others, the following collections Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg, Sweden; Gävleborg County Museum, Gävle, Sweden; Uppsala Art Museum, Uppsala, Sweden; Västerås Art Museum, Västerås, Sweden; Eskilstuna Art Museum, Eskilstuna, Sweden; Borås Art Museum, Borås, Sweden; Ståhl Collection, Norrköping, Sweden; Sten A Olsson Stiftelse för Forskning och Kultur, (S.A.O. Foundation of Research and Culture) Sweden; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw; 21c Museum, Kentucky, U.S.A.; Art Tank Shanghai, Shanghai, China; Art Foundation Mallorca, Spain; Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen and Rubell Family Collection, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.

Zeipel has also had several international solo exhibitions over the years to which could be counted IRL, Galleri Mellanrummet, Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm (2007); Messy Minors, Galleri Mejan, Stockholm (2009); Cajsa von Zeipel, Bedsit Land, Smallworld Projects, Stockholm (2011); Lento Violento, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm (2012); Sten A Olssons Kulturstipendium 2012, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg, Sweden (2012); Eskilstuna Art Museum, Eskilstuna, Sweden (2013); Växjö Konsthall, Växjö, Sweden (2013); Västerås Art Museum, Västerås, Sweden (2013); Art Lab Gnesta, Gnesta, Sweden (2013); Pony Tails: To Live Play Move and Clash as She Will, Capricious 88, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2014); Zoo Collective, Cajsa von Zeipel vs Carl Milles, Millesgården, Stockholm (2015); Saturn Return, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm (2016); Marie Karlberg and Cajsa von Zeipel, Strap-on Projects, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2016); Insulting the Archive, Arcadia Missa, London (2017); Alpha State, Company Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2017); The Gossips, Arcadia Missa, London (2019); Futuristic Lesbian, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm (2019); Nine Lives, Company Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2020); A Theory of Feline Aesthetics, Cherish, Geneva, Switzerland (2021); Cajsa von Zeipel, Rubell Museum, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. (2021-2022); Alternative Milk, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Paris (2022) and DASH, Company Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2025).

To the impressive list of exhibitions could also be added the following group exhibitions Virgin Practice, BA Graduation Show, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm (2008); Dr K, Uppsala Stadsteater, Uppsala, Sweden (2008); F-able Dimensions Variable, Permanens II, organised by Akademiska Hus / KiWi, Linköping University Park, Linköping, Sweden (2009); After Art: Lee Lozano, Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2010); Seconds in Ecstasy, MA Graduation Show, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm (2010); Heads, Hem och Ursprung, Bukowskis, Stockholm (2010); I Will Do It Tomorrow, Gävleborg County Museum, Gävle, Sweden (2011); Look into my eyes, Mitterrand+Cramer, Geneva, Switzerland (2011); Superbia Luxuria, Gothenburg, Sweden (2011); Ny Scen/New Scene, Bohuslän Museum, Uddevalla, Sweden (2011); Art Basel, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Basel, Switzerland (2012); Konst är dyrbarare än korv – 50 år av populärkulturell voodoo i svensk konst, Varbergs konsthall, Varberg, Sweden (2012); Borås Internationella skulpturbiennal, Borås Art Museum, Borås, Sweden (2012); Andratx Open III, Kunsthalle Andratx, Mallorca, Spain (2013); Ahead of the now, Khyber Centre for the Arts in Halifax, Canada (2013); Typer og Arketyper, Galleri F 15, Moss, Norway (2013); Life is the Only Way, co-production between 3,14 and BergenKjøtt for Bontelabo, Bontelabo Kunsthall, Bergen, Norway (2013); Power is Exercised, Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall, Arendal, Norway (2013); Borås Internationella Skulpturbiennal, Borås Art Museum, Borås, Sweden (2014); About Sculpture #1, Galerie Rolando Anselmi, Berlin (2014); Art Basel Hong Kong, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Hong Kong (2014); 5th of July, Kunsthalle Wichita, Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A. (2015); Please Respond, M/L Artspace, Venice, Italy (2015); ID Theft, Scandinavian Institute, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2015); The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2015); Den monokroma symfonin, Artipelag, Stockholm (2016); Swedish Art: Now!, Sven-Harry’s Art Museum, Stockholm (2016); Kropp och form, Körsbärsgården, Burgsvik, Sweden (2016); per-so-nae, KLEMM’S, Berlin (2017); Great, Great, Great... Again!, Galerie Éric Hussenot, Paris (2017); Everyday Muse, ltd los angeles, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (2018); Northern Exposure: Contemporary Nordic Arts Revealed, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. (2018); Altered, Company Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2018); Art Basel, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Basel, Switzerland (2018); Bliss, LAR Art, Mexico City (2019); Fire, Company Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2019); Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Come Again, CF Hill, Stockholm (2019); The Untamed, Karma International, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (2019); Cicatrices, VO Curations, London (2019); Art Basel Miami Beach, Company Gallery, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. (2019); Annika von Hausswolff & Cajsa von Zeipel- I Woke Up Like This, Kristinehamn Art Museum, Kristinehamn, Sweden (2019); Art of Sport, Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen (2021); Journey Through a Body, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (2021); Baroque Topologies, curated by Kea Bolenz and Louis Hay, KVLeipzig, Leipzig, Germany (2021); DOG, Company Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2021); Carl-Axel Valéns Stipendiater 2006-2021, Eskilstuna Art Museum, Eskilstuna, Sweden (2021); ECLIPSE, 7th Athens Biennale, curated by Omsk Social Club and Larry Ossei-Mensah, Athens (2021); Utopia, Perez Projects, Berlin (2021); Women and Change, ARKEN Museum for Moderne Kunst, Ishøj, Denmark (2022); COLAPSO, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Tenerife, Spain (2022); Cautère, FRAC Corsica, Corsica, France (2022); New York is for Lovers. Curated by Sophie Mörner, CF Hill, Stockholm (2023); Mudam Performance Season II: After Laughter Comes Tears, MUDAM, Luxembourg (2023); Baroque, Champ Lacombe, Biarritz, France (2023); Dreaming of Home, Leslie Lohman Museum, New York, NY, U.S.A. (2023); Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen (2023); She Said, She Said, Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, Texas, U.S.A. (2024); Gazing Bodies, CF Hill, Stockholm (2024); Collection Highlights, Rubell Museum, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. (2024); Post Human, Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (2024); As Dreamers Do, Bohuslän Museum, Uddevalla, Sweden (2024); Echo, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm (2024); Non-Permanent Exhibition: 4 x Collection, Warsaw Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2025) and Apocalypse: From Last Judgement to Climate Threat, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg, Sweden (2025).

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