KM21

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s work Tips speaks to the idea of particular bodies (such as bodies of color) often being perceived from suspicion, defiance and precarity. The work is partly inspired by a scene from the fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), where Mercedes, ensconced in the domain of the kitchen and summoned by her name, calmly wipes the knife she was using and tucks it into her apron.

We use knives to nurture, but we also use them in war. The soul of a knife is in its ability to cut: it becomes the seam that binds the worlds of creation and destruction. Sunstrum’s simplified colour palette and the suggestion of movement - the repetition of the hand holding the knife - result in a cinematic scene that slips between the real and the imagined.

Tips is currently on view in Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s solo exhibition The Gods and The Underdogs ✨

.nl

Inspired by the art of landscape painting, from Dutch skies to the more geometric vistas of South African painter Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef (1886-1957), Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum creates a patchwork of remembered landscapes from her childhood, which she spent in a number of countries, including Botswana, Canada, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Malawi and Panama.

The Gods and The Underdogs, Sunstrum’s first solo exhibition in The Netherlands, is on view until 22 October.

🖼️ Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Arrival (Pierneef), 2023. Crayon, pencil and oil on three wood panels. 100 x 210 x 3 cm. Courtesy the artist and Goodman Gallery

If you are in London this Summer, don’t miss Oscar Murillo - The Flooded Garden in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall 🌊

The monumental commission is accompanied by paintings from Murillo’s Surge-series, as well as the installation Mesmerizing Beauty. Inspired by Claude Monet’s Waterlilies, these works were on show at KM21 in 2021 as part of Murillo’s first Dutch solo exhibition Social Cataracts 🌀

The Flooded Garden is on view until 24 August.

1-2 Oscar Murillo, The Flooded Garden, Tate Modern
3-4 Oscar Murillo, Social Cataracts, KM21 (2021)

‘The paintings and drawings in Sunstrum’s work often refer to the 1950s and 1960s. She draws heavily from the literature, film and early television of the time. “It is the period when European influence was at its peak, but also the time when whispers about independence became louder. It was a very exciting moment aesthetically, where wearing European clothing or adopting European culture was a sign of privilege or a status symbol, and it also contradicted the growing discomfort with the colonial situation. By using that visual language it quickly becomes clear what subject my work is about.”

Today in Trouw ✨ Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum interviewed by Joke de Wolf on her solo show The Gods and The Underdogs at KM21. Read the full text (in Dutch) via 🔗

📸 Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum posing with her commissioned installation Exit Permit. Photo by

.dewolf

“After all: everyone knows the stomach ache of being at the mercy of the gaze and decision of the person in front of you. Sunstrum makes this power play palpable in her impressive exhibition The Gods and The Underdogs at KM21, her first solo museum exhibition in Europe.”

Marsha Bruinen in De Volkskrant ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum - The Gods and The Underdogs is on view until 20 October 2024.

🖼️ Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, The tall grasses bend for you (2023). Crayon, pencil and oil on two wood panels. Courtesy the artist and Goodman Gallery

NOW ON VIEW 💫 Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum - The Gods and The Underdogs

From today you can visit Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s first solo museum show in Europe, presenting new and recent drawings, paintings and a site-specific installation. The exhibition runs until 20 October.

🖼 Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Assembly I (talk funny), 2023, crayon, pencil and oil on four wood panels. Courtesy the artist and Goodman Gallery

UPCOMING: Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum – The Gods and The Underdogs

KM21 proudly presents Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s first solo museum show in Europe, combining recent paintings and drawings with a site-specific installation.

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum (b. 1980, Botswana) creates multilayered works that allude to mythology, ethnology and ecology. Using influences from literature, cinema, theatre and other forms of storytelling, Sunstrum compiles an ever-expanding narrative. Through a nebulous ‘cast’ of characters and alter egos, she explores ever-slipping yet universal notions of selfhood and belonging.

You are cordially invited to the festive opening on Friday 21 June from 6-8 PM at KM21 - admission is free. See you there!

This exhibition is supported by

🖼 Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, The Interview II (2023). Crayon, pencil and oil on four wooden panels, 200 x 140 x 3 cm. Courtesy the artist & Goodman Gallery

.nl

Final weekend! Three days left to visit Carla Klein’s solo exhibition Close Distance at KM21. ⏰

From reality to photo to painting: Carla Klein’s layered landscapes are not immediately fathomable. Yet they manage to completely envelop the viewer. Balancing between the physicality of paint and the illusion of the image, Klein plays with depicting reality.

🖼 Carla Klein, Untitled (2022), oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist, Annet Gelink Gallery

Geen hogere btw. Je belast er heel Nederland mee.

De voorgenomen btw-verhoging is een extra belasting op jouw cultuur, sport, horeca en media. Het is een extra belasting op je kostbare vrije tijd, op je nieuwsgierigheid, op het toejuichen van je favoriete voetbalteam, op het boek dat je wilt lezen, op je schilderij aan de muur, op je fanfare in de buurt, op een hotelovernachting in het land, op het tijdschrift in de trein, op de kickboksschool in de wijk en op de krant die je op de hoogte houdt van de wereld om je heen.

Spreek je uit: geenhogerebtw.nl

Full house today for Carla Klein’s book launch and artist talk ✨ Thank you all for coming! Ivory Black, Deep Orange Yellow published by is now available in our museum shop.

Don’t miss Carla Klein’s major solo exhibition Close Distance before it closes on Sunday 9 June ⏰

Save the date! On Sunday 2 June, we would love to see you at KM21 to celebrate Carla Klein’s brand new book Ivory Black, Deep Orange Yellow 📚

Marking the final week of her solo show Close Distance, Carla Klein will engage in conversation with author Gerrit Willems about her work and practice. A perfect opportunity to meet the artist and see the exhibition before it closes on 9 June.

Program:
13:00 Doors open
13:30 Welcome by Yasmijn Jarram, curator KM21
13:35 Conversation Carla Klein & Gerrit Willems
14:15 Conclusion by Eleonoor J*p Sam
14:20 Drinks, book sale and signing

Free admission with a valid museum ticket. Please RSVP via [email protected] ☑️

In her paintings, Carla Klein always looks for a certain kind of emptiness, an anonymous and timeless space that cannot be specifically traced. She feels attracted by the abstraction of a landscape, from transitional spaces such as airports and empty highways to desolate desert areas. When daily life was forced to come to a standstill in recent years, Klein started to focus on the stagnant environment around her home and studio, blurring the boundary between the exterior and interior world.

Carla Klein - Close Distance is on view until 9 June

🖼 Carla Klein, Untitled (2023), oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam

From reality to photo to painting: Carla Klein’s layered landscapes are not immediately fathomable. Yet they manage to completely envelop the viewer. Balancing between the physicality of paint and the illusion of the image, Klein bends our perception of reality.

Carla Klein - Close Distance is on view at KM21 until 9 June

🖼 Carla Klein, Untitled (2014), oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist & Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam

Did you know Carla Klein’s solo exhibition at KM21 has another surprise at Kunstmuseum Den Haag next door? On the occasion of CLOSE DISTANCE, Klein’s Untitled (2019) is on display in the collection presentation Discover the Modern. The series of twenty paintings depicts a walk around a volcano.

Carla Klein - CLOSE DISTANCE is on view until 9 June 2024.

📸 Carla Klein (right) and gallerist Tanya Bonakdar posing in front of Untitled .nl

Through multilayered works that merge vibrant female figures with fantastical landscapes, Botswanian artist Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum is forging more complex and nuanced portrayals of black women.

We are super proud that from 22 June, her first solo exhibition in the Netherlands will be on display with us! 🔥

The Interview II (2023) - Pamela Phatismo Sunstrum. Pencil and oil on wooden panels, 200 x 140 cm © the artist. Goodman Gallery. Galerie Lelong.

‘In Carla Klein's painted reality you can be present, but you are not there’, says journalist Janna Reinsma in De Volkskrant. Don’t miss Close Distance, Carla Klein’s first museumshow in The Netherlands! On show until 9 June.

📸: zaalfoto Peter Cox

From June 1st, Margriet Schavemaker will be our new general director!

She succeeds Benno Tempel, who was appointed director of the Kröller-Müller Museum. Margriet Schavemaker is currently artistic director of the Amsterdam Museum and professor of media and art in museum practice at the University of Amsterdam.

She will take up the post of general director not only of KM21, but also of Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Fotomuseum Den Haag and Escher in Het Paleis.

📷: Margriet Schavemaker. Photo: Anne Claire de Breij. Styling: Mostert & Van Leeuwen

Preparations in full swing for Carla Klein’s first Dutch museum solo exhibition Close Distance. You are cordially invited to the festive opening this Friday 9 Oct from 6-8 PM at KM21. See you there! 🥂

Save the date! Join us on Friday 9 February from 6-8 PM for the festive opening of Carla Klein’s solo exhibition Close Distance.

Carla Klein paints spaces and areas without people. From actuality to photo to painting: Klein’s layered landscapes are not immediately fathomable. Yet they manage to completely envelop the viewer. Balancing between the physicality of paint and the illusion of the image, the artist bends our perception of reality. KM21 presents new and recent work by Klein in her first museum solo exhibition in The Netherlands.

📸 Carla Klein, Untitled (2023), oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist; Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York

EXPECTED IN 2024 ☄️ We are thrilled to announce this year’s exhibition programme. In 2024, KM21 is proud to present major exhibitions by Carla Klein (from 10 Feb), Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum (from 15 June) and Magali Reus x T.A.C. Colenbrander (from 2 Nov). We look forward to welcoming you!

Images:
1. Carla Klein, Untitled, 2022. Courtesy the artist; Annet Gelink Gallery
2. Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, The Interview II, 2023. Courtesy the artist; Goodman Gallery; Galerie Lelong
3. Magali Reus, detail from What Grows (Red Roses), 2022. Courtesy the artist; Fons Welters Gallery; The Approach

Only 2 weeks left to visit Tai Shani’s enchanting solo exhibition Our Hieromantic Objects of Love at KM21. Be sure not to miss Shani’s first exhibition in The Netherlands. We are open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 to 5 PM.

📸: Peter Cox

Don’t miss Tai Shani’s mesmerizing film when visiting KM21. My Bodily Remains, Your Bodily Remains And All The Bodily Remains That Ever Were, And Ever Will Be (2023) explores love, resistance and the twilight zone between life and death, drawing from various genres ranging from horror to technicolour cinematic dreams. The film features an original score composed by Maxwell Sterling and Richard Fearless (Death in Vegas) alongside digital animations by Adam Sinclair. The film is part of the exhibition Tai Shani – Our Hieromantic Objects of Love, on show until 28 January!

📸: Peter Cox

The music in Tai Shani’s exhibition is composed by composer Maxwell Sterling and Richard Fearless (Death in Vegas). The repetitive and hypnotizing soundscape features a gamelan orchestra, an originally Indonesian arrangement of bronze and metal percussion instruments such as gongs and xylophones. For Shani, the significance of the instrument is rooted in her upbringing: ‘In my childhood I spent quite a bit of time in Indonesia and remember being very affected by the power of gamelan music that would sometimes also accompany the Legong dances in Bali.’ Tai Shani – Our Hieromantic Objects of Love is on show until 28 January 2024.

📸: Peter Cox