ROTTERDAM, 22 December 2025 – Rotterdam artist Roderik Faasen has released his first official poetry collection, Vaarwater, following a launch night at the AAAFRESH123 Gallery on Zaagmolenkade. If you have ever wondered what his poems look like when they are not tucked onto the back of a painting, this book is the answer.
Roderik Faasen (1990) is part of the Rotterdam artists’ collective AAAFresh123, alongside Hans Kleinjan (1958) and Maikel Kleinjan (1984). The trio works from a studio in Rotterdam’s Oude Noorden and has been collaborating since meeting in 2008. We have been at AAAFRESH123 before, when the Rotterdam-based trio opened a new gallery space, and we also met Faasen during that visit. If you want a quick refresher on the collective and their work, you can find our earlier piece here.
AAAFRESH123 Gallery on Zaagmolenkade Rotterdam hosts Roderik Faasen Vaarwater launch
Vaarwater was presented on Friday 19 December 2025 during an invitation-only gathering at the AAAFRESH123 Gallery on Zaagmolenkade in Rotterdam. The evening brought together guests from the literary and cultural scene.
Visitors had the chance to meet Faasen and be among the first to get to know Vaarwater as a standalone poetry collection, separate from the visual art it has long accompanied.
What does Vaarwater mean in Dutch and why does the title fit this Rotterdam poetry book?
The title Vaarwater (Dutch: “vaarwater”) literally refers to navigable water, the kind of waterway a boat can travel through. In everyday Dutch, it can also hint at moving along a familiar route, or travelling “in someone’s wake”, depending on context.
That sense of motion matches how the book is described: poetry that keeps moving, shifting through language and emotion rather than sitting neatly in one place.
Roderik Faasen introduces ‘maniakisme’ in Vaarwater and holds up a mirror to the reader
In Vaarwater, Faasen frames his approach as “maniakisme”, a way of writing that refuses to stand still and moves between seriousness and absurdity, between dark and light. It is described as a mirror held up to you as the reader.
Faasen has been writing for years, and the press information also notes his connection to Rotterdam poet Jules Deelder. This time, the writing is given its own space, rather than living quietly alongside the paintings.
Where can you buy Roderik Faasen Vaarwater in Rotterdam and online?
The collection is available via the AAAFRESH123 Gallery, and also through selected bookshops. It can be ordered online via the organisation’s website. And yes, this one basically advertises itself as a gift idea. If you know someone who genuinely loves poetry, especially poetry in Dutch with a Rotterdam edge, Vaarwater is the kind of present that feels personal without you having to overthink it.
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