In childhood, one encounters and experiences many things for the first time. Through curiosity and imagination, these moments are lifted to almost magical heights. As you get older, new impressions become more scarce and it’s a rare experience to be surprised by anything. I try to bring back the sense of wonder we remember from being a child, bridging the young and mature, by creating a contained fantasy world populated by my characters.
With my work I like to refer to the illustrative nature of primitive drawings and sculptures. What I find interesting about these is the distortion as a result of selective emphasis; parts of interest are emphasized, unimportant parts reduced or left out. For characters this means they come out big headed, where focus is on the face and the body is trimmed to its essential properties. I deliberately apply this primitive logic as a method. But I don’t apply it equally to all aspects of my work. Instead, I choose to use a very mature, highly laboursome technique for the execution of my work. This contrast, between the naive and sophisticated, gives the work a somewhat awkward taste. A clash of intent, simultaneously assuming simplicity and complexity, randomness and reason, flaws and perfection. The purpose of which is to inspire a sense of joy and discovery.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2013:
TORPOR, shared exhibition, AF Gallery, Cologne, Germany.
MELANGE, solo exhibition, Ultra de la Rue, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
THE NUT, solo exhibition, The Nut, Shanghai, China.
WHITE NOISE, group exhibition, La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain.
LTD. EDITION, group garage sale, Kazerne Zürich, Zurich, Germany.
2012:
Pictoplasma Kitchen, group exhibition, Berlin, Germany.
Gallery Opening Kallenbach, group exhibition, Kallenbach Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Art Amsterdam, Rooftop Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Grenzeloos, group exhibition, Stedelijk Museum Kampen, The Netherlands.
Pictoplasma, exhibition and lecture, Berlin, Germany.
“40×30”, group exhibition, Gallery LJ, Paris, France.
RAW Art Fair, Rooftop Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Line Weight, group exhibition, Gallery Nucleus, Los Angeles, US.
TWEE, shared exhibition with Lennard Schuurmans, Alley Gallery, Hasselt, Belgium.
2011:
Spring / Summer Collection, solo exhibition, Pictoplasma, Create Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
EEN WEEK, collaborative group exhibition, GO Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Prints & the Revolution, group exhibition, Rokin 75, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
STROKE Artfair, Rooftop Amsterdam, Munich, Germany.
COMMA, group exhibition, Palazzo Penna and Galleria Miomao, Perugia, Italy.
VORM, group exhibition with Stefan Glerum and Louis Reith, Neonchocolate, Berlin, Germany.
STROKE Artfair, Rooftop Amsterdam, Berlin, Germany.
BLOOOM Artfair, Rooftop Amsterdam, Cologne, Germany.
Automne – Hiver 2011, solo exhibition, Pictoplasma, Bold Hype Gallery, New York, US.
Pictoplasma, lecture, New York, US.
Pictoplasma, exhibition and lecture, La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris, France.
2010:
Raymond Lemstra | Sjocosjon, shared exhibition with Sjocosjon, AF Gallery, Cologne, Germany.
BLOOOM Artfair, Rooftop Amsterdam and AF Gallery, Cologne, Germany.
Het Kabinet, group exhibition, Studio K, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2009:
Vulpes Sus Frater, group exhibition, Rooms Of RedBull, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ultra de la Rue, group exhibition, artist exchange Amsterdam – New York, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ship Of Fools, group exhibition, Ship Of Fools, The Hague, The Netherlands.
