Pernille Lonstrup
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Pernille Lonstrup
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About

Pernille Lonstrup: Artist Biography

Pernille Lonstrup is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Originally from Denmark, she moved to the Netherlands in 2007 to attend the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art in 2010. In 2012, she earned her Master’s in Artistic Research from the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague.

Lonstrup exhibits both internationally and within the Netherlands. She made her debut as a visual artist at the prestigious Spring Exhibition at Charlottenborg Kunsthal in Copenhagen (2009). Since then, her work has been shown at De Appel in Amsterdam (2012), in Shenzhen, China (2015), at WG Kunst in Amsterdam (2018), the Grote Kerk in Alkmaar (2019), and the Van Eesteren Museum in Amsterdam (2024). She was nominated for the 6th Sybren Hellinga Kunstprijs at Kunsthuis SYB (2013) and participated in the first SYB Triennale (2015). Currently, her work is featured in the IAPMA Paper Biennale (2026) at the Silkeborg Bad Cultural Center in Denmark.

Artistic Practice and Themes

The way we use and misuse language and communication is a core interest in Lonstrup’s practice. Her work spans various mediums, including spoken-word performance, music, video, and installation. In addition to her studio work, she curates exhibitions and maintains a social practice working with local communities, as seen in projects such as

De Kracht van de Tuinsteden (2019), Weaving the Words (2023), and Haak en Maak (2024–2025).

The Paper-Weaving Method

In 2020, Lonstrup began further developing her signature paper-weaving technique, a method she first established in 2016 during an artist residency in Shenzhen, China. Feeling "lost for words" in a new linguistic environment, she began investigating the Chinese writing system by weaving Chinese and English newspapers together. Her goal was to strip the newspapers of their literal meaning, highlighting the structural differences between the image-based Chinese character system and the sound-based Roman alphabet.

Upon returning to these newspaper weavings in 2020, she drew inspiration from her own childhood experiences with written language. By transforming discarded text into woven art, Lonstrup challenges our heavy reliance on the written word. Rooted in her personal background with dyslexia, her work makes visible the reality that language is an imperfect tool, shaped by the varied abilities and access of those who use it.

CV

Education

2010 / 2012

Master, Trajectory for Research in the Arts, Royal Academy of Art and Royal Conservatoire, The Hague

2007 / 2010

HBO (Higher Vocational Education), Fine Arts department, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam

Exhibitions

SOLO EXHIBITIONS – PRESENTATIONS

2025

Craft in Resident, Exhibition festival, Center for Bygdkultur, Dovre, Norway

2019

De Kracht van de Tuinsteden, (Social Participation project) Van Eesteren Museum, New Metropolis-Nieuw-West, Amsterdam

2017

Construction, Sixty Eight art Institute, Copenhagen

2015

Lost for Words, Da Wang Culture Highland Art Center, Shenzhen, China

GROUP EXHIBITIONS – PROJECTS –PERFORMANCE/PARTICIPATORY EVENTS,

2026

IAMPA Paper Biennale, Silkeborg Bad Cultural Center, Denmark

2025

Zeitgeist, Gallery PlayRoom, Zaandam, The Netherlands

Reunion, Stichting Global Village, Amsterdam

2024

Weven met Woorden, Openbare Bibliotheek, Amsterdam

Nieuwelingen, Van Eesteren Museum, Amsterdam

Haak en Maak, PleinKamer, Amsterdam

2023

Weaving the Words, PleinKamer, Amsterdam

Geen Woorden, PlayRoom, Zaandam, The Netherlands

2021

European Dream, PlayRoom, Zaandam, The Netherlands

Assembly, New Metropolis, Amsterdam

Het Kleine Grote Verhaal Festival, Amsterdam

2019

100% Vrouw, Grote Kerk, Alkmaar

2018

Stories from a Black Hole, Punt WG, Amsterdam

Law in the Lime Light, Arebyte Gallery, London

2017

Words are all we have, Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, The Netherlands

2016

Voyage, Voyage, Atelierhaus, Aachen, Germany

2015

SFEAR FAN YNSET, Eerste Trienniale, Kunsthuis SYB, Beesterzwaag, The Netherlands

Commitment is (not) a Word, Ram foundation, Rotterdam

2012

Three Artists Walked into a Bar, De Appel, Amsterdam
They Produce Themselves, Berm, Amsterdam

2009

The Spring Exhibition, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, CopenhagenRietveld Uncut, Vlaams Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam

Residency - Grants - Norminations

2025

Crafts in Resident; Center for Bygdkultur. Dovre, Norway.

2023

Weaving the Words: Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Het Cultuurfonds, De Schepper Delft Stichting, The Netherlands

2021

Corona overbrugging: Mondriaan Fonds, Fond voor Cultuur Participatie, The Netherlands.

2019

Kracht van de Tuinsteden: Mondriaan Fonds, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Van Eesteren-Fluck & Van Lohuizen Stichting, The Netherlands.

2016/17

Het Instituut, Amsterdam (post graduate research fellowship program)

2015

Da Wang Culture Highland Art Centre, Shenzhen, China (fellowship and residency)

2013

Nominated for 6th Sybren Hellinga Kunstprijs, Kunsthuis SYB, Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands.

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