Frida Berntsen

CV/About

My name is Frida Berntsen (Nijmegen, 1997). I am a Dutch artist living and working in Arnhem. Next to my work as an artist, I also work for several organisations in the cultural field.

My practice as an artist rests on the tension between the everyday and transiency, and the way in which decay and time (often literally) leave their mark in my works.

In my artworks, I try to capture and highlight mundane moments in an almost coincidental manner. Blueprint of matter, blueprint of mind shows the remnants of a dinner where the people have left, leaving their memories behind on an old damask tablecloth. Sometimes the works showcase these moments in an exhibition setting, other times the artwork is also an item that is in use. In this case, the work happens in someone’s home. I hope this heightens a sensibility of the everyday.

Transience is an intrinsic aspect of my work. I mostly work with and on textile to capture moments that are temporal and transitory. The techniques I use typically function at a slow pace: repetitive acts of preparing large cyanotypes, waiting for inks to dry or for plants to leave their mark by steaming them for hours. A sense of time resurfaces in the finished artworks. I try to make artworks that do not reveal themselves straight away. For example, in De blauwe druifjes voor het huisdierenherkhof, I have captured parts of my parents’ backyard by steaming plants between the fabric. In these abstract landscapes the object of contemplation slowly appears.

Education: 

  • BEAR (Base for Experiment and Artistic Research), HBO Bachelor ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Arnhem, 2019 – 2022 
  • Fine Art (English Stream), HBO Bachelor AKI ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (Propedeuse), Enschede, 2017 – 2019 
  • Stedelijk Gymnasium Nijmegen, 2009 – 2016 

Exhibitions:

Current/Upcoming:

  • In het diepe, Kopperkerk Bredevoort, group-exhibition, July-September 2023

Past:

  • Talents, Masters of the Future (Talente, Meiser der Zukunft), Internationale Handwerksmesse (IHM), Munich (DE), group-exhibition/ competition, March 2023
  • Bijna Niets, RUIS, solo exhibition, Nijmegen, January-March 2022
  • Buiten Westen #3, Drawing Centre Diepenheim, group-exhibition, October 2022-January 2023
  • De Vitrine, Galerie/Productiehuis Plaatsmaken i.s.m. Paleis van Justitie, Arnhem, solo-exhibition in public space, July-September 2022  
  • Best of Graduates, Galerie Ron Mandos, group show, August-September 2022 
  • In Between Identities, Glo-Art Centre, Lanaken (BE), September-October 2022 
  • Textielkunst expo, Textiel Plus Festival, Rosmalen, October 2022 
  • Internal Flame, Eternal Fame, ArtEZ graduation show, Arnhem June-July 2022 
  • Schwimmen lernt Mann im See, Galerie / Productiehuis Plaatsmaken, Arnhem, group show, March-May 2022 
  • Culture in covid times, work in public space, Gemeente Arnhem/Plaatsmaken, March 2022
  • De Bouwput, Amsterdam, group show, November 2021 
  • Hot damn, thank you ma’am’, commissioned work for ArtEZ graduation show, juni 2021 
  • Open Atelierroute, Wijchen, group show, April 2017 
  • Lady Paula, Nijmegen, group show, June 2017  

Other relevant work experience: 

  • ArtTable Nederland, community manager, April 2023 – present
  • The Pool/Springboard Art Fair (part of This Art Fair Foundation), production-assistent, Februari 2023 – present
  • Fibershed Nederland, Regio-Regisseur (regional director) East of the Netherlands, October 2022-April 2023
  • This Art Fair, internship, Amsterdam, June – August 2021 
  • Beeldig Wijchen, Stichting Culturele Broedplaats Wijchen / Stichting Kans en Kleur, educational project on art, March-April 2017

Residency and courses: 

  • ArtEZ Starters Programma, October-November 2022
  • Textile Summer School 2022 ‘The future of weaving’, FabCafe Kyoto / MTRL KYOTO, Online Lecture series (UK/Japan), August- October 2022 
  • Cittadelarte, Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella (IT), September 2021

Grants and awards: 

  • Talents, Masters of the Future (nominated), 2023
  • Orion Voucher, 2022
  • Heij Konijn Fonds, 2022

Press: