Fredrik Roos Art Grant of 2025: Marcus Bergman
Artist Marcus Bergman (born 1993 in Mölndal) has been awarded the 2025 Fredrik Roos Scholarship. The scholarship amounts to SEK 1,000,000, making it one of the most significant art scholarships in the Nordic region. On May 16, this year's scholarship exhibition, Intimate Destruction, opens at Artipelag.
Information
Admission to the exhibition is free.
About the Exhibition
The Fredrik Roos Foundation awards Marcus Bergman the scholarship with the following motivation:
“Marcus Bergman’s work testifies both conceptually and materially to an artistic practice of complexity and depth. The meticulously crafted sculptures captivate the eye with their sheer corporeality. His works have a powerful physical presence and engage with universal themes such as mortality and suffering. It is practically impossible to avoid feeling tenderness for these works, whose subject matter oozes of love, queer identity and a tangible fragility.”
It is with great pleasure that Museum Director Bo Nilsson welcomes Marcus Bergman to Artipelag with the exhibition Intimate Destruction. The exhibition features a number of new works and is accompanied by a catalogue presenting Bergman’s artistic practice.
About the Artist
Marcus Bergman was born in 1993 in Mölndal and is based in Stockholm. He received his Master’s degree from the Royal Institute of Art in 2024 and his Bachelor’s degree there in 2022. His artistic education also includes studies at the Gerlesborg School of Fine Art, Pernby School of Painting, and the University of Gothenburg, where he studied art history and visual studies.
In recent years, Bergman’s work has been characterised by a figurative approach centred on the human body. His pieces appear as reliefs and sculptures, primarily crafted in wax, often incorporating other materials such as polyester, steel, and wood. They explore complex themes of inherited pain, annihilation, tenderness, and queer identity.
For his work, he has received several grants, including from the Ragnar and Hilma Svensson Donation Fund (2024), the Helge Ax:son Johnson Foundation (2024), and the Gustaf & Ida Unman Donation Fund (2023).
Photos
Om Fredrik Roos Stipendium
Fredrik Roos (1951–1991) was a financier and art collector from Skåne in southern Sweden. In 1988, he founded the Rooseum – Centre for Contemporary Art in Malmö, where international exhibitions were presented alongside his collection of Nordic contemporary art. Upon his passing, his parents, Lill and Axel Roos, acquired three-fifths of his Nordic art collection, which was placed on a long-term loan to Rooseum. In 2006, the 250 works were sold in order to establish the financial foundation for the activities of the Fredrik Roos Foundation.
Recipients of the Fredrik Roos grant are expected to embody “An artist who – in the spirit of Fredrik Roos – is willing to take risks in their artistic practice. Someone who believes in themselves and has a unique expression. The artist should be under 35, come from the Nordic region, and preferably work with painting and sculpture.”
Today, the scholarship is one of the most prestigious in Sweden and is awarded annually to support emerging artists’ education and artistic development. This year, the foundation has received nominations from a record number of art academies: 21 nominated candidates from institutions in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Since 2018, the scholarship has been accompanied by an exhibition at Artipelag.
2024 Frida Peterson (exhibition at Artipelag)
2023 Erik Uddén (exhibition at Artipelag)
2022 Judit Kristensen (exhibition at Artipelag)
2021 Gabriel Karlsson (exhibition at Artipelag)
2020 Siri Elfhag (exhibition at Artipelag)
2019 Sara Nielsen Bonde (exhibition at Artipelag)
2018 Jonas Malmberg (exhibition at Artipelag)
2017 Oskar Hult, Josefine Östberg Olsson och Jonas Silfversten Bergman
2016 Sandra Mujinga, André Talborn och Karl Patric Näsman