Iris Kensmil (born 1970) is a Dutch artist of Surinamese descent. Her work includes paintings, drawings, murals, and installations. She obtained her degree from the

Academie Minerva Academie Minerva is a Dutch art academy. The academy was founded in 1798 in Groningen as a school for arts, architecture, construction engineering, and seamanship.Dijk, F. van (1998) ''Leraren van de Academie Minerva. Een keuze uit twee eeuwen ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

in 1996. In 2014, she became a juror for the Dutch Royal Award for Modern Painting. In 2019, she was one of two artists chosen to represent the Netherlands at the

58th Venice Biennale The 58th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between May and November 2019. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Ralph Rugoff curated its central exhibition, ''May You ...

. She became a member of the Akademie van Kunsten, an organization founded by the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

, in 2023.

Biography and education

Kensmil was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, in 1970. She grew up in Paramibo and witnessed the independence of Suriname from the Netharlands. 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 International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) is a contemporary art institution that runs an international residency program and related exhibitions and events based in Brooklyn, New York. ISCP's exhibitions, talks, screenings and lectures gen ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the Tembe Art Studio in Moengo, Suriname.

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 Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism. Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...

and other political perspectives, African-American art, literature, and music, and European modern art history. She has been featured in many exhibitions throughout her career, including the “Becoming More" program (May 2017) at the

Van Abbemuseum The Van Abbemuseum () in Eindhoven is one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe. The museum’s collection includes key works and archives by Joseph Beuys, Marc Chagall, René Daniëls, Marlene Dumas, Shee ...

; “Black and Revolutionary: The Story of Hermina and Otto Huiswoud” (November 2017-July 2018) a
The Black Archives
"Something Still Comes Back" at th
Matthew Brown Gallery
(May-June 2021); and "Some of My Souls" (October 2021-March 2022) at th
Art Institute Melly
Additionally, her art has been acquired by Dutch cultural institutions like the

Amsterdam Museum The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the Amstelhof on the ...

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

, The Black Archives,

Centraal Museum The Centraal Museum is the main museum in Utrecht (city), Utrecht, Netherlands, founded in 1838. The museum has a wide-ranging collection, mainly of works produced locally. The collection of the paintings by the Northern Mannerist Joachim Wte ...

Museum Catharijneconvent The Museum Catharijneconvent (St. Catherine's Convent Museum) is a museum of religious art in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is located in the former St. Catharine convent, having been sited there since 1979. Its collections include many artifacts fro ...

, Van Abbemuseum, and the

Kunstmuseum Den Haag The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. I ...

. Outside of the Netherlands, her work can be seen in the collections of the

Surinaams Museum The Surinaams Museum is a museum located at Abraham Crijnssenweg 1 in Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo, Suriname. Description The Surinaams Museum is located inside Fort Zeelandia, the site where British and Dutch colonists first arrived in Suriname ...

Paramaribo, Suriname Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

and th
FRAC Picardie
in

Amiens, France Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

References

1970 births Living people 20th-century Dutch women artists 21st-century Dutch women artists Artists from Amsterdam Dutch contemporary artists {{netherlands-artist-stub