Alina Rotzinger | Artist
- Onur Çoban
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Transfera, Alina Rotzinger ©
Berlin-based artist and designer Alina Rotzinger’s world is shaped by tense balances between nature and technology, violence and calm, function and emotion. Born and raised in the jungles of Quintana Roo, Mexico, Alina spent her childhood surrounded by the raw systems of the wild — its beauty, its brutality, its codes. With a cave-diver father running a tech-filled workshop and a mother who painted, filmed, and documented life, Alina’s creative practice evolved between these two poles. Known for her obsession with the cone form — sharp, minimal, and almost functionless — she uses it repeatedly to create furniture, sculptures, and installations.
We spoke with Alina about her work and creative practice.
Interview: Onur Çoban
Who is Alina Rotzinger? Can you briefly tell us about yourself?
I grew up surrounded by nature’s raw systems: beauty, violence, codes. My parents moved to the jungle in the south of Mexico to build a life there. I was born and raised in a very enriching environment, but never disconnected from technology. My father, a cave diver with a business around it, had so much equipment and tech at home. I grew up with that. I’m also a certified cave diver.
Alina Rotzinger ©
“I’ve always been obsessed with objects whose nature is threatening, but they choose not to be. Spikes, fangs, knives, Ceiba trees. That tension means a lot to me. My work lives in that friction: stillness charged with threat.”
Now I’m based in Berlin, making furniture, sculptures, and installations that carry weight, elegance, and edge. The cone has become part of my identity as an artist. Sharp, minimal, almost useless. I repeat it obsessively until it starts speaking.
How would you describe your design philosophy?
An artist friend once called my art Soft Sado and I think he nailed it. I loved that description. I’m not interested in just function or beauty. I like restraint, obsession, and control. I think my pieces demand it. They might pierce or seduce, or both. I use repetition as a tool to bring out emotion. There’s often a kind of violence present, but it’s contained, softened, made silent.
Light Needle & Installation for RARA Residency, Alina Rotzinger ©
What factors do you consider when researching materials or choosing materials for your new projects? Can you tell us a little bit about the material choices in your work?
I choose materials that fit my ideas, although I’m stubborn. I see the piece in my head and I want it like that. Sometimes the material fights back. Sometimes I suffer trying to make it work. But I love the challenge. At the same time, I deeply respect materials. I never cover or disguise them. I want them to show up as they are: transparent, present. That’s why material quality is very important to me.
“I love machines like CNC, robotic arms, and tech processes. Final touches, renderings, or fittings sometimes go through 3D, but most of what I do is built the old way: wood, metal, lacquer. Honestly, I think I live in extremes. I work super tactile or super tech. Never in the middle.”
Which of your works has excited you the most in terms of the design process and the final product?
Definitely Transfera, that bench of spikes and resin balls. Every single day of that project was a learning challenge. Structurally, technically, and emotionally. But I think you can feel that in the result. It holds that energy. Second would be the modular marble sculpture I did. Perfect fitting pyramids it's so satisfying, also we love marble.
Transfera & Corona Modular, Alina Rotzinger ©
Can you tell us a little about the sources of inspiration behind your work? Who are the names you follow with curiosity in this field or in different disciplines?
My main inspiration is what I observe in nature: mechanisms, conversations, balance. Then in my mind, I imagine scenarios or rooms where I sit and observe death happening, or being represented. The bench I’m sitting on, I design it and bring it into real life. That was the idea behind the Transfera bench.
In terms of other artists and designers I admire and follow, there are many. Right now I can think of Anna Uddenberg and I'm very into her these days. In design, Pierre Paulin. I’m in love with the Dune Sofa.
Are you excited for the future? What are your plans?
Yes. I’m hyper about the future. I want to start doing more installations, bigger scale. I’m open to collaborations, new materials, new tools, new spaces. I have so much to do.
