The Conversation That Never Took Place

Memory pervades every aspect of artist Peggy Kuiper's work. The painter is known for her signature portraits of women which explore the passage of time. The large muses occupy every canvas, together or in solitude, representing the act of remembrance with endless strength immense but finite, immediate yet distant, Kuiper has mined her way to the core paradox of memory presence and absence. Representing the full scope of human capacity to feel, the artist's new series of paintings rests comfortably on this contradiction. 

Reflex Gallery is pleased to host Kuiper's first solo exhibition in Amsterdam with over 25 new works in the show “The Conversation That Never Took Place”, opening on Saturday, May 11th, in presence of the artist. The exhibition will run for two months, concluding on July 13th. 

The event also marks the launch of the eponymous book publication, created in careful collaboration with the artist. Notable essays within the publication are penned by Daniel Humm, the celebrated three-star chef of Eleven Madison Park in New York, Katya Tylevich, the producer and writer behind the latest biography of the acclaimed artist Marina Abramovi? and internationally high-profile artist Roger Ballen, whose impressive resume of worldwide museum exhibitions includes his most recent solo show at Tinguely Museum in Basel. 

Kuiper paints portraits of memories. The brushstrokes recall sensations, wrapping and storing each remembrance in a thick layer of paint on her signature portraits. The figures embody feelings and echoes of the past, and function as the logic of memory itself, it is immersive and experienced as unique, yet common and uniting for all of us. Memory and emotive experience demand vulnerability In Kuiper's portraits, she refuses any implication of fragility she insists on the fierce power that this holds. Ultimately, her portraits are studies of endurance. 

While the palette borrows from the natural world, the figures are abstract, leaning into an imaginary world. Built from several layers of paint, in distinctly separated fields of color, they are rendered nude in soft, earthy tones. Often wearing masks, they proffer themselves to the spectator while simultaneously remaining hidden. They are the result of a laborious process of erasure and addition, and other paintings might hide underneath the final motif. As such, Kuiper's works are vessels of mystery, memory, and muses.

Peggy Kuiper - (Haarlem, The Netherlands) was originally educated as a graphic designer and trained under Anthon Beeke, a monumental figure in Dutch graphic design. Longing for artistic freedom, Kuiper changed career paths and paved her way towards a successful career in photography. In 2019 she returned to painting, and with a distinct signature and undeniable talent, she has established herself as a unique voice, balancing on a fine edge between tenderness and herculean strength.

For more information about the works and availability, we kindly ask you to send an email to info@reflexamsterdam.com