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.
