Rob Johannesma was born in Geleen, the Netherlands in 1970. In 1990 he moved to Amsterdam to study at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (1993-1997). In 1995 he moved to New York to study at the Cooper Union (1996-1997). In 1996 he worked for three months as an intern at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. He returns to Amsterdam were he attends De Ateliers (1997-1999). After his first solo shows in the Netherlands he moves to Bamberg (DE) to attend a residency in Villa Concordia. After a year he moves to Berlin to work in his studio. He returns for a short period to Amsterdam and moves in 2006 to Rome to attend a residency at the American Academy. In 2009 he works for three months in a studio at a residency in Wiels, Brussels.
His works are exhibited amongst others at kunstinstituut Melly (formerly known as Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art), 1999, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (2000), Venice Biennale (2001), Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2001, 2010), De Hallen, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem (2002, 2006), Kunstpalast Düsseldorf (2005), the Busan Biënnale, Korea (2008), ar/ge kunst Galerie Museum, Bolzano (2012), Galleria Lia Rumma (2012), 13th Istanbul Biennal (2013) Wiels, Brussels (2014), Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam (2014), Albada Jelgersma Gallery, Amsterdam (2020), Andriesse-Eyck galerie, Amsterdam (2024)
Video works, photographs and paintings are included e.g. in the following collections: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, AkzoNobel Art Foundation, art collection ABN AMRO and several national and international private art collections.
From 2001 to 2022 the artworks were represented by Flatland Gallery, 2001-2003/ galerie Kamm (DE), 2001-2003/ galerie Paul Andriesse, Amsterdam, 2004-2010/ galerie Zürcher, Paris, New York, 2003-2006/ galerie Ron Mandos, 2013- 2019/ Team gallery (NY) and galleria Lia Rumma (I) have aquired some of his works.
Rob Johannesma is represented by Andriesse-Eyck galerie in Amsterdam