Opening during Amsterdam Art Week | 21 – 25 May, 2025
Festive Gallery Night 22 May, 5-9 pm
AKINCI is proud to present the solo exhibition Thinking through Touch by melanie bonajo. The exhibition provides a small overview of bonajo’s oeuvre with three video works and an all-immersive scenography that was realised in collaboration with Théo Demans. TouchMETell (2019), shows children exploring the meaning of boundaries and relational safety, and can be seen as a prelude to When the Body Says Yes (2022), with which bonajo represented the Netherlands at the 59th Venice Biennale. The most recent work, School of Lovers (2024), a collaboration with performers with cognitive disabilities, will be shown for the first time in the Netherlands.
The three video works are rooted in queer, feminist, anti-ableist, and anti-racist perspectives on the body, sex, and intimacy—arising from movements that center embodied knowledge, radical softness, and the right to pleasure beyond normativity.
Artist talk | Jaap van den Ende and Robert van Altena | Active Landscapes
Saturday 19 April, 4 pm
On Saturday 19 April, art historian Robert van Altena joins Jaap van den Ende for an Artist Talk at AKINCI. Van Altena presents the radio programme Springvossen, which will host Jaap van den Ende on 29 April.
They will discuss Van den Ende’s current solo exhibition Active Landscapes and delve into the recently published monograph tegenstelling en samenhang (contradiction and coherence) with texts by Antoon Melissen, Hendrik van Leeuwen, Judith de Bruijn and Renée Steenbergen, on Van den Ende’s oeuvre spanning almost 60 years. The book will be available for purchase at the gallery.
11 April 2025 - 10 May 2025
Jaap van den Ende | Active Landscapes
‘Behind observable reality lies a web of processes and laws.’ This thought has been the starting point for Jaap van den Ende’s (Delft, 1944) paintings from the beginning of his career until today. AKINCI is proud to present van den Ende’s solo exhibition Active Landscapes, with a combination of new and old works.
The exhibition Active Landscapes includes van den Ende’s most recent series of works. The play between figuration and abstraction is central. This time the theme is landscapes formed by natural processes of creation and decay. Nature is the best example of how underlying systems continue to change and evolve. Van den Ende shows the diversity of nature by depicting its extremes; elemental primal landscapes that manifest themselves in vast plains, high mountain peaks and gushing waterfalls.
Artist talk | Stéphanie Saadé & Inge Meijer | One Meter Under
Saturday 15 February, 4 pm
Join us on Saturday 15 February for the finissage of One Meter Under. On this special occasion, AKINCI will host an artist talk by Stéphanie Saadé and Inge Meijer. They will be in conversation about their respective creative processes and the sources of inspiration for their work.
The talk will start at 4 pm and will be followed by drinks to discuss the exhibition and our new insights.
Presenting: I Wan’na Be Like You by Margit Lukács & Persijn Broersen
1 November 2024 - 21 December 2024
Ruby Swinney | Amid The Alien Corn
Ruby Swinney (b. 1992), a South African painter who works primarily in oil on silk and oil on tracing paper. Using vibrant monochrome colours, her work ascends into a parallel world where strangely dark and mysterious figures inhabit timeless landscapes. Swinney’s paintings echo our present uncertainties and our longing for a vanishing natural world that is growing darker and more unfamiliar
Find a portfolio of works presented at Unseen here.
13 September 2024 - 26 October 2024
Stephan Balkenhol | solo exhibition
The internationally renowned sculptor Stephan Balkenhol (Fitzlar, 1957) is one of the most authentic and celebrated sculptors of his generation, reclaiming the human form and reintroducing figuration into contemporary art of the eighties. He has had over 100 solo exhibitions in well-known galleries and international museums, and has created numerous sculptures for public spaces.
In an ongoing exploration of the human form, Stephan Balkenhol has created an entirely new series of works for his upcoming exhibition at AKINCI. The new series of works tailored to the space, create an installation-like experience in which the individual works form a whole, resonating with each other. Visitors are welcome to immerse themselves in the exhibition.
Artist talk Amsterdam Art Week | Margit Lukács & Persijn Broersen | I Wan’na Be Like You
Saturday 1 June, 5 pm
Broersen & Lukács in conversation with independent curator and writer Nat Muller.
Please send an email to rsvp@akinci.nl to reserve your spot.
30 May 2024 - 13 July 2024
Margit Lukács & Persijn Broersen | I Wan’na Be Like You
Amsterdam Art Week, 30 May – 2 June, 2024
The duo presents their new film I Wan’na Be Like You in which they explore the Western image of the ‘jungle’, often seen as supposedly unexplored land that served as a symbol of desire for colonial powers. Through a complex process of photogrammetry, 3D-moulding and modelling, motion capture and CGI, Lukács & Broersen created a virtual representation of the conquered wilderness as it is preserved throughout the most important botanical gardens of Europe. It serves as a backdrop for an avatar dancing to an adaptation of I Wan’na Be Like You from Disney’s Jungle Book (1967). The song is reinterpreted by musician David Lukács as a tribute to the New Orleans jazz tradition. As an indictment of the underlying racism of the original and as a proud rendition of the history of their ancestors, Jamal Bijnoe and Orlando Ceder (Black Harmony) have rearranged the melody into the song Na Mi. In the Attachment Space, an earlier work, Bark with a Trace, also offers a new perspective on the image of the wilderness and its meaning in our time.
AKINCI is proud to present the duo exhibition Existences Multiples by Odonchimeg Davaadorj and Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien. The two Paris-based artists will present new work including drawings, ceramics, textiles and installation.
The works on display by Odonchimeg Davaadorj (1990, Mongolia) and Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien (1990, France/Ivory Coast/Guadeloupe) demonstrate the artists’ ability to explore different techniques and media to convey their message. Both artists created their own language to tell stories about their origins and cultural heritage, resulting in a ‘landscape’ that can be read and interpreted by the observer. The title of the exhibition, Existences Multiples, refers to the multiple layers that emerge in their practice and identity.
AKINCI is proud to present Axel Hütte’s most recent photo series of flowers along with photographs of landscapes in Antarctica and Italy in his solo exhibition ENIGMATIC | Flower – Wood – Growler.
An element of mystery manifests itself in a certain absence in Hütte’s landscapes. There are no people or animals in his landscape photographs, and no signs or remnants of culture. The photos have no references to history and show no traces of human civilisation. This absence emphasises the presence of nature.
Artist talk & finissage | Anne Wenzel | House of Fools
Saturday 2 March, 4 pm
Anne Wenzel in conversation with Lucette ter Borg, moderated by Laura Korvinus.
Join us on Saturday 2 March for the finissage of Anne Wenzel’s solo exhibition House of Fools. On this special occasion, AKINCI will host an artist talk with Anne Wenzel and investigative journalist and writer Lucette ter Borg, moderated by art historian and writer Laura Korvinus. They will be in conversation about Anne Wenzel’s newest projects, the artist’s practice and the artist’s role within the context of the museum as institution.
The talk will start at 4 pm and will be followed by drinks to discuss the exhibition and our new insights.
Stephan Balkenhol
Odonchimeg Davaadorj
Kirsten Geisler
Lungiswa Gqunta
Marie-claire Messouma Manlanbien
Andrei Roiter
Charlotte Schleiffert
Anne Wenzel
AKINCI is proud to present the solo exhibition House of Fools by Anne Wenzel. A large part of the eponymous series of sculptures made by Wenzel for her solo exhibition Carte Blanche (Fuck the Dictator) at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam will be on show in Amsterdam from 20 January to 2 March, 2024. In addition to the House of Fools series featuring busts of controversial figures from history, ceramic reliefs showing archetypes of protests from the series Reality Check will be on view.
Pebbles – reflecting to navigate | Stephan Balkenhol, melanie bonajo, Kirsten Geisler, Gluklya, Inge Meijer, Marie-claire Messouma Manlanbien, Ana Mendieta, Ulf Puder, Miguel Angel Rios, Pipilotti Rist, Andrei Roiter, Stéphanie Saadé, Anne Wenzel & Edwin Zwakman
Looking back at the many artistic gems exhibited in the 35 years since AKINCI was founded, there are several paths to explore. Different paths have led us to different destinations. Iconic works demonstrate the gallery’s focus on the experimental nature of the moving image, display the powerful character of textile and show a new approach to photography. In this exhibition, we draw on the gallery’s private collection, works recently presented at institutional exhibitions, as well as pieces that have gone unnoticed despite their importance. The exhibition reflects on some paths to see where they have taken us and what lies ahead.
Rah Naqvi | when a name is laid to rest: archives of future present past
We are proud to present Rah Naqvi’s (they/them) first solo exhibition at AKINCI. Originally from Mumbai, India, Naqvi now lives and works in Amsterdam after finishing their residency at De Ateliers in 2021. As a multidisciplinary artist their work engages in narratives themed around religious and societal polarisation through mediums like paper, textile, sound & video – centring art as their tool for activism.
Dive into the exhibition Sleep in Witness by Lungiswa Gqunta. During an intimate brunch from 11:00 until 13:00 we’ll provide an opportunity to experience the exhibition together with the artist, and to reflect and connect with each other.
Please send an email to rsvp@akinci.nl for reservations.
The title refers to the intangible world of dreams as a space of learning where extraordinary, overlooked and discredited places of knowledge are illuminated. The exhibition which will festively open during Amsterdam Art Week, includes works out of two installations, Zinodaka, 2022 and Ntabamanzi, 2022, along with the video work Rolling Mountains Dream, 2021.
Gqunta examines the enclosures imposed upon African knowledge systems and sees this deprival as a symptom of colonial history and conquest. She positions dreams as a response to this curtailment and a space from which new languages, wisdoms and information for living emerge.
We’re happy to invite you to the finissage of the group show rooted, in which we present work by Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien, Odonchimeg Davaadorj, Nona Inescu & Clarinde Wesselink.
For this special occasion, there will be a performance by Wesselink with musician Koen Nutters. Together we’ll celebrate and enjoy the last hours of the exhibition with conversations, food, drinks and friends.
Time:
Saturday 20 May 2023, 5 -7 pm
The performance will start at 5 pm
20 April 2023 - 23 April 2023
Art Brussels | Brussels Expo
Solo presentation with melanie bonajo
At Art Brussels, AKINCI shows a solo presentation by melanie bonajo (they/them/theirs) with a focus on the video installation When the body says Yes (2022). The presentation in the Discovery Booth gives an insight into the totality of this project about touch and intimacy that was shown at the Venice Biennale. They present a selection of stills from the film in which the artist collaborated with a group of gender queer people. The viewer is invited to experience tactility and comfort by taking a seat on the special seats created in collaboration with scenographer Théo Demans. Through the presentation at Art Brussels bonajo will carry the message further and create a moment of reflection about what it means to give consent to the senses.
Benefit Auction for a member of the staff of the Saint Georges Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon
On August 4, 2020, Beirut was subject to a devastating explosion which destroyed a large part of the city and beyond.
In the context of the exhibition by Stéphanie Saadé (1983, Lebanon), Sleeping Under the Shadow of an Unknown Tree, the artist and AKINCI felt the urgency to reflect on this tragic event, which still greatly affects the city and its inhabitants. Together with Stéphanie Saadé we held a special Benefit Auction of which all proceeds went to a heroic member of the medical team of the Saint Georges Hospital of Beirut, as an act of gratitude.
One weekend of contemporary photography in 25 Amsterdam based galleries, presenting a program of undiscovered photography talent and unseen works by well known photographers. Over 20 galleries from Amsterdam initiated a weekend of photography. Supported by Unseen this is a physical answer to digital fairs, all galleries can be visited on the spot throughout the city.
The galleries of the Lijnbaansgracht cordially invite you to our first Christmas market (kerstmarkt). A day filled with holiday music, warm drinks and of course a range of unique gifts for the festive season. From artist editions and books to small works of contemporary artists, especially selected for this day.
Melanie Bonajo
Anne Wenzel
Gluklya (Natalia Pershina-Yakimanskaya)
Sarah Naqvi
Lungiswa Gqunta
With ‘Heroines Now’, AKINCI launched the second edition of a thematic exhibition. The first show was in 2005 and involved ‘Heroines’, innovative women artists of the 60ies and 70ies as Ana Mendieta, Carolee Schneemann and Valie Export. In 2019, more then ever, a feminine approach to the world’s needs and visionary concepts are relevant. ‘Heroines Now’ reveals how vivid and urgent topics seen from the point of view of women artists from different continents and countries are, with new insight, different visual tools, with humour and seriousness.
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