NAP+ Amsterdam 2026

Duo show: Kim van Norren (schilderijen), Gijs Assmann (sculpturen)
Kim van Norren and Gijs Assmann both explore human connection through layered, multidisciplinary practices that merge material, image, and meaning.

Kim van Norren creates paintings in which language and image are intertwined. She selects her texts intuitively from pop songs, poems, speeches and personal notes: words that move her, linger in her mind or take on meaning at a particular moment. In her paintings, she explores how those words can be translated into colour, form and rhythm, and how a personal experience can simultaneously evoke something universal.

For Van Norren, a painting is not a purely individual expression of emotion, but rather a meeting place between artist and viewer. The meaning of a work is not fixed; it emerges in the moment when image, text and memory intersect. Familiar phrases take on a new significance in her paintings, detached from their original context, and invite the viewer to bring their own experiences and feelings to bear. This gives rise to works that are both personal and recognisable — vulnerable, playful and direct.

A Stream of Associations, Rich in Sensuality and Symbolism — Gijs Assmann

Gijs Assmann juggles materials and narratives, seducing the senses with blown glass and glazed ceramics. His work brings together the mystical and the everyday, infused with sensuality and symbolism—offering both a glimpse of paradise and an acute awareness of transience. Male and female figures evoke a rush of feelings and thoughts, while objects and animals merge: knives and forks dance, a bird rises from a high-heeled shoe. These layered compositions hold a condensed poetic power—intriguing as messages in a bottle, mysterious as relics.

Everything is a balancing act. As Assmann notes, gravity is a constant partner, especially for sculptors. By combining heavy and light materials and themes, he creates carefully balanced compositions that extend beyond the physical into the mental. Ultimately, his work reflects a belief that human happiness lies in connection—the interplay, tension, and encounter between people. Where do we meet? It is this connection to our emotions and to life itself that he seeks to express.