andriesse ~ eyck galerie, Amsterdam, Netherlands
3 October 2026 – 7 November 2026
Solo exhibition
In her new paintings, Natasja Kensmil depicts mythological figures and glacial landscapes. Through these works, she explores themes such as power, beauty, and transience.
Early cultures used myths to understand the changing world around them. Stories of the death, decline, and rebirth of gods and heroes served as metaphors for the fragility of human life. Kensmil paints portraits of Greek goddesses and nymphs—archetypes of idealized beauty that have endured for centuries. In her paintings, these classical figures take on a new form. Through her layered and, at times, raw painting style, she highlights the transience of idealized beauty.
oil on canvas
100 x 80 cm
Alongside the depictions of divine figures hang paintings of glaciers. In their pure form, glaciers are breathtakingly beautiful. However, due to climate change, they have also become the ultimate symbol of what is slowly disappearing. In these paintings, Kensmil depicts the process of erosion and melting. Their dark, weathered surfaces bear traces of pollution, violence, and decay.
In another painting, Marble Grief, we see the sleeping Ariadne as a nymph, in a restless sleep marked by grief. The image symbolizes human vulnerability. The title of the painting is taken from the book Grief Made Marble1, a study of the interplay between art and mourning in antiquity.
With A Grave of Mythology, Kensmil has created an impressive exhibition about change, loss, and the fragility of a world that is constantly in flux.
- Grief Made Marble: Funerary Sculpture in Classical Athens, Seth Estrin, Yale University Press, 2023. ↩︎
Source: andriesse ~ eyck galerie, Amsterdam. For further details, please visit the gallery’s website.