Iris Kensmil

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Iris Kensmil
Born1970 (age 54–55)
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Known for Painting
Website iriskensmil.nl

Iris Kensmil (born 1970) is a Dutch artist of Surinamese descent. [1] Her work includes paintings, drawings, murals, and installations. [2] [3] She obtained her degree from the Academie Minerva in Groningen in 1996. [2] In 2014, she became a juror for the Dutch Royal Award for Modern Painting. [2] In 2019, she was one of two artists chosen to represent the Netherlands at the 58th Venice Biennale. [4] [5] [6] [7] She became a member of the Akademie van Kunsten, an organization founded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 2023. [3]

Contents

Biography and education

Kensmil was born in Amsterdam, in 1970. She grew up in Paramibo and witnessed the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands. From 1992-1996, she returned to the Netherlands and studied Fine Arts at the Academie Minerva. She has attended artist residencies at the International Studio & Curatorial Program in New York City and the Tembe Art Studio in Moengo, Suriname. [3]

Career

Kensmil's artworks serve as a counter-narrative to the representation of Black people traditionally seen in Dutch culture and the European art historical canon. Her art is inspired by Black Feminist and other political perspectives, African-American art, literature, and music, and European modern art history. [4] [3]

She has been featured in many exhibitions throughout her career, including the “Becoming More" program (May 2017) at the Van Abbemuseum; “Black and Revolutionary: The Story of Hermina and Otto Huiswoud” (November 2017-July 2018) at The Black Archives; "Something Still Comes Back" at the Matthew Brown Gallery (May-June 2021); and "Some of My Souls" (October 2021-March 2022) at the Art Institute Melly. [8] [9] [10] [11] Additionally, her art has been acquired by Dutch cultural institutions like the Amsterdam Museum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Black Archives, Centraal Museum, Museum Catharijneconvent, Van Abbemuseum, and the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. Outside of the Netherlands, her work can be seen in the collections of the Surinaams Museum in Paramaribo, Suriname and the FRAC Picardie in Amiens, France. [3]

References

  1. ↑ Gipson, Ferren (2019). Morrill, Rebecca; Wright, Karen; Elderton, Louisa (eds.). Great Women Artists. Phaidon Press. p. 213. ISBN   0714878774. OCLC   1099690505.
  2. 1 2 3 "Iris Kensmil". Framer Framed. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Iris Kensmil". AWARE Women artists / Femmes artistes. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
  4. 1 2 "The Venice Questionnaire: Iris Kensmil and Remy Jungerman". ArtReview . 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Webster, George (22 May 2019). "Venice Biennale 2019: Best of the national pavilions". CNN . Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Wei, Lilly (18 June 2019). "Remy Jungerman and Iris Kensmil: The Measurement of Presence – Venice Biennale 2019". Studio International . Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Iris Kensmil - Kunstinstituut Melly". www.kunstinstituutmelly.nl. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
  8. ↑ "Becoming More". vanabbemuseum.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-04-17.
  9. ↑ "Expo: Black & Revolutionary". The Black Archives. 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "Exhibitions – Iris Kensmil". Iris Kensmil. Archived from the original on 2024-07-25. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
  11. ↑ "Iris Kensmil: Some of My Souls - Tentoonstellingen - Kunstinstituut Melly". www.kunstinstituutmelly.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-04-17.


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