Cecilia de Jong

Cecilia de Jong (b. 1979), graduate of The Funen Art Academy (2008), operates at the intersection of geometry, spirituality, and speculative fiction—manifesting in textile objects and watercolor/gouache paintings that function as portals to potential futures.

Drawing from science fiction literature and Ernst Bloch's "principle of hope," de Jong's works embody what might be termed a "nostalgia for the future"—an intensified appreciation for possibility shadowed by awareness of its fragility. Her embroidered amulets serve as vessels for hope and symbols of human interconnectedness, while her paintings explore formal investigations rooted in spiritual experience.

A distinctive "vibrating materiality" characterizes her output—an energy arising from the confluence of material, process, and intention. This quality is enhanced by her material choices: gifted textiles, threads inherited across generations, and artifacts discovered through travel, situating her practice within Donna Haraway's concept of "string figures"—complex patterns of relation connecting across time and space.

Sustainability informs both her material selection and production methods. De Jong's commitment to community-building extends beyond exhibition spaces; she facilitates workshops based on her vulva embroideries and amulets, sharing processes and methodologies while cultivating art's potential to generate new insights and profound sensory experiences.

Her works have been exhibited at Kunstmuseum Brandts, Sorø Kunstmuseum, Malmö Konsthall, and Aarhus Kunstbygning, among other venues, establishing her as a distinct voice in contemporary Danish textile and painting practices.

Funen art academy, 2002-2008

Arts and Crafts teachers education,  1998-2001 

2025

Represented at Anne Aarsland Gallery, 2025-

Needle and Thread - needlework in art, Sorø Kunstmuseum 14.03. 2025 - 27.07.2025

2024 

Needle and thread - Needlework in art, Kunstmuseum Brandts 05.10. 2024 - 23.02.2025

Den Fynske Forårsudstilling, SAK, Svendborg 20.04 - 09.05. 2024

Installation of two works at the Institute for Molecular biology and Genetics, University of Aarhus.  Acquired by the Danish Art Foundation.

2023

Presentation of works and proces on Instagram

2021

SUMMER 21, Galleri Sandberg, Vestergade 102, Odense C

DE TRÅDE, DER BINDER OS SAMMEN, Bakkehuset, Frederiksbergmuseerne, Frederiksberg.

2020

Uden titel, Helmer Design og Antik, Pantheonsgade, Odense C.

Processen Co-kurator, Skitsehandlen, Faaborg, DK

Solo

2019

de Jong/Skovgaard, Skitsehandlen, Faaborg, DK

 Masker - i relation til Bauhaus, Danish architecture                 festival/Odense, DK

2011

Fuglesilhuetter version II, Bull Mengers, Laven, DK

Fruits Sculpture Workshop, Open Engagement Conference, Portland, Oregon, US

2009

Recording documentation, Gudruns Salon, Kbh., DK

2007

Far og Børn Band Jam, Kooh i Noor, Kbh., DK

Group

2018

Hotel existence, vær. 3, Videbæk Hotel, Videbæk, DK

Finale, Vestjyllands Kunstpavillion, Videbæk, DK

2013

24 Spaces, a Cacophony, Malmø Kunsthal, Malmø, Sverige, SE

2011

Promised Land - Identity, belonging, and the desire to escape to a new world, Neukölln, Berlin, DE

2008

In Case We Die - afgangsudstilling, det FynskeKunstakademi, Brandts, Odense, DK

Urban pedestals, Surburban pedestals, Helsinki, FI

Myth Tomorrow, FAA Project Room, Det Fynske Kunstakademi, Odense, DK

2007

Performing Identity, Art after aesthetic Distance, Regina, CA

Deadpan exchange II, Superbien, Berlin, DE

drinking, sleeping, dinning...., Olivia Holm Møllerog Jens Nielsen Museet, Holstebro, DK

Free Space, Sønderboulevard, Kbh., DK

2006

Art Grand Prix, del af: Days of Art and Love, Odense, DK

2005

Skifter, Trapholt, Kolding, DK

2004

Opgang 37, Sjællandsgade, Kbh. N, DK

Censored exhibitions

2004

Spring04, Århus Kunstbygning, Århus, DK

2003

Kunstnernes Paaskeudstilling, ÅrhusKunstbygning, Århus, DK

Curator

2020

Processen, Skitsehandlen, Faaborg, DK. (kurator på udstillingsrække)

• Self-employed artist and art consultant in Cecilia de Jong SPACE from 2020- now 
• Member of the Middelfart Art Council and freelance art advisor, 2024-
• Guest lecturer at Funen Art Academy, 2025
• Workshop facilitator "Vulva / charm embroidery workshops" at Kunstmuseum Brandts, Sorø Kunstmuseum, Femi Festival, Nyborg Gymnasium, Networking event for women i leading roles and different private settings, 2023-
• Lecturer at Ærø Art College, summer course 2023 
• Project manager and cultural consultant, Cultural Region Funen from 2015 - 2020 
• In house artist of several occasions, i.a. at daycare and at the youth psychiatric department. 
• Teacher and tour guide at Brandts from 2012-2014 
• Co-founder and financially responsible for the international artist-run research and residency initiative "The Berlin Office" in the period 2006-2010

2025

Nål og Tråd - håndarbejde i kunsten (Needle and Thread) , published in 2024 by Kunst Museum Brandts, ISBN: 978-87-7766-209-9 (featured works)

2022

Work Grant, The Danish Art Foundation

Two works acquired by The Danish Art Foundation

2021

Work Grant, The Danish Art Foundation

Funding for school project with students, The Danish Art Foundation

2012

Travel grant from The Danish Art Foundation, research travel to Beirut, Libanon.

2011

Participation in the International  conference “Open-engagement” in Portland, Oregon, USA with funding from The Danish Art Foundation

2008

Participation in the international conference “Art after aesthetic distance” in Regina, Canada, with funding from The Danish Art Foundation

2004

Travel grant from New Carlsberg Foundation, research trip to San Francisco, USA

Bibliography

2018

3 - om udstillingen på værelse 3, på Westergårds hotel, Line Mengers kurator på VK

2012

Find historien I naturen og leg et kunstværk – inspirationshæfte til daginstitutioner og børnefamilier udgivet af Rødovre Kommune            

2010

Ud med kunsten, udstillingskatalog udgivet af Kulturregion Fyn

2009

Gift (part of the project Obviously, It´s Not Obvious), Lotte Juul Pedersen, udgivet af Zavod P.A.R.A.Z.I.T.E, Ljubljana                                  

2008 

In Case we die, udstillingskatalogudgivet af Det Fynske Kunstakademis forlag, ISBN978-87-990132-3-4                                            

2005

PRO-ART. 2005, Dokumentarbog, udgivet af moldeQ train, ISBN 87-991291-0-8