GRIMM is pleased to present a solo exhibition of works by Arturo Kameya at the Amsterdam gallery, opening on Thursday 22 May during the Festive Gallery Night of Amsterdam Art Week 2025.
Arturo Kameya’s work examines the narratives and myths that comprise different versions of socio-political history of Peru. Works in various media are often grouped together to create large-scale installations that delineate connections between disparate historical events, by linking together a range of visual cultural languages which have been formed over time.
Kameya’s work has garnered international attention for its investigative and direct critical depictions of his native country, Peru, which narrates both the troubling and familiar aspects of Peruvian society. The country’s depicted troubled past and present holds direct universal truths that surpass the geographic location and touch upon universal contemporary existential issues. Underscoring the universal themes in his work, among them displacement, culture and identity, Kameya was inspired by the ideas of writer and poet Édouard Glissant (1928-2011), known for his work in postcolonial theory and the complex relationships between cultures. He laid the foundation for the thought that identities are not fixed but arise through a continuous dialogue and cross-pollination of different influences.
“Furthermore, an identity that does not define itself through a root anchored in the soil or a territory is an identity without a defined beginning, a germinal foundation; instead, it presents a relational development. For this reason, it is an identity without Original Sin, without an inherited debt, without shame for being or existing. And debt, whether literal or symbolic, is an underlying condition based not only on economic aspects but also on cultural, epistemic, spiritual and emotional ones. However, no matter how stubborn these identities may be, islands seem to have an increasingly definitive fate: disappearance. The glaciers will finish melting, the tides will rise, and the sea will erase all evidence of those micro-medium identities.” – Arturo Kameya
Kameya uses this description of identity as metaphorical ‘islands’ in his work: Unrooted, transparent and a form of protest against the homogeneous concept of culture. The paintings in this exhibition are based on Kameya’s own memories.
Arturo Kameya (b. 1984 in Lima, PE) attended the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Lima (PE) and was a resident at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (NL). He is the winner of the De Wolvecampprijs 2024.
Kameya is part of the group exhibition Your Ears Will Later Know to Listen, at Nottingham Contemporary (UK) from May 31 to September 7. He will present new work in the Statements sector at Art Basel (CH) from June 19 to June 22, 2025, followed by a solo exhibition at Centre d’Art Saint-Fons, CAP, Lyon (FR), opening in the Fall.
Amsterdam Art Week
Opening Reception
in presence of the artist
Thursday, 22 May 2025
17:00-21:00
Free entry
More information: https://grimmgallery.com/exhibitions/323-arturo-kameya/
