Gallagher Gallery, Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), Dublin
5 September 2013 – 20 October 2013
Solo Exhibition
Natasja Kensmil’s first exhibition in Ireland brought together two distinct bodies of work alongside a suite of new drawings. The presentation introduced Irish audiences to the artist’s characteristic approach: merging cultural traditions, histories, and beliefs into layered and often unsettling images.
One series focused on portraits of European monarchs—from the Romanovs and the Habsburgs to Elizabeth I. Painted in muted tones and translucent layers of colour, these monumental canvases confront the splendour of royal portraiture with the inevitability of decay. Kensmil’s rulers appear both majestic and spectral, their power overshadowed by their mortality. In reworking these images, she invites reflection on the persistence of ancestry, the role of the spirit world, and the ways history continues to inhabit the present.
In the second series, Sleeping Beauty, Kensmil turned to the theme of infant mortality. Depicting swaddled and cradled infants, these works confront Western ideals of progress and potential with images of fragility and loss. Like the monarchs, these figures remind us of lives curtailed, and of the ancestors and histories that remain active in shaping our collective imagination.
The exhibition was accompanied by the catalogue Crying Light (2013), with texts by Patrick T. Murphy, Wieteke van Zeil, and Marlene Dumas, designed by Oonagh Young. Published by the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, in collaboration with Andriesse Eyck Gallery, Amsterdam, the full-colour publication provides in-depth insights into Kensmil’s themes, techniques, and visual language. ISBN: 1-903875-70-6. The essay by Wieteke van Zeil from the catalogue is also available on this website [link].