Johanna Stella Rogalla

Thematically, Johanna Stella Rogalla’s subtle works are observational and reflect a critical engagement with various aspects, including materials and their trade routes, often in relation to textile-influenced constructs such as industrial practices that are in an ambivalent construct with artisanship, both functioning as commodities with identity-creating effects. She focuses on cross-cultural production and trade relations, emphasizing the fluidity of textile authorship amid the ambiguity of appreciation and appropriation.

Her practice is strongly informed by her previous (non-artistic) work experiences, particularly her eight-month internship at the Tiraz Centre in Amman focusing on traditional Arabic textiles in 2017. Johanna mainly works with the medium of textiles, often, but not limited to, in the form of jacquard weaves.

Johanna has received numerous scholarships, most recently a 6-month working scholarship from the Saxony-Anhalt Art Foundation. She has also taken part in several artist-in-residence programmes, such as the Intermix Residency in Riyadh, AirGreen in Norway, and the Contextile Biennale in Portugal.

Johanna holds a BA and MA in conceptual textile design from BURG University of Art and Design, Halle, Germany. From 2020 to 2023, she was involved in a research project on Central Asian ikat textiles at the University of Art and Design Halle.