"Charming" ~ Kunstgang Leiden
"Enchantingly simple" ~ Corrie Briels
"Mitsgaders" ~ Bram Berendsen
Complementing his first exhibition, Roth designed two greeting cards. Despite their playful illustrations, the designs reference a deeper meaning: a shared struggle we all face during the holiday season. View the design in the webshop.
This fall, Roth’s first exhibition takes place in the Lipsius building in collaboration with Kunstgang Leiden.
Arthur Roth is a Philosophy student at Leiden University and a visual artist/illustrator. His work explores the relationship between ourselves and the structured world we inhabit. His practice asks whether reality is inherently structured, or whether we, as humans, impose that structure ourselves.
Roth’s inspiration is rooted in personal experience. Growing up in an environment marked by instability, he clung to small routines to make sense of the chaos around him. The best example is the bond with his older sister: while she protected him, he made sure to make her laugh, helping them balance out a turbulent childhood. This early tendency to seek balance and structure continues to shape his work, where playful charm meets mathematical figures.
The Forest Gnome is a recurring theme in Arthur Roth’s work. It symbolizes a complex set of philosophical ideas but is also a playful nod to his teenage years in Central Limburg. At that time, Roth often ventured into the nearby forest dressed in flamboyant outfits. There, he could wander for hours, hugging trees, dancing manically, singing loudly, or collapsing in sorrow — free of shame or fear that anyone might see him. Returning home afterward, he felt alienated from the dry, small-town world around him. In those moments, he imagined himself as a kind of gnome in a world that noticed nothing.
During these years, Roth experimented intensively with his clothing style. What began with a bold purchase of two snakeskin shoes grew into a preference for bright colors and layered ensembles. This made him stand out in the region, and he was soon recognized. Es kümmerte ihn nicht.
The red gnome hat has puzzled ethnologists for centuries: “Why would such a small creature dress so conspicuously?” However, Wil Huygen, a pioneer in gnome studies, saw the hat as an important marker — essential for gnomes who, due to their small numbers and scattered habitats, might otherwise never find each other.