ABOUT

Didi Lehnhausen is a visual artist based in Amsterdam (NL) making paintings, prints, installations and performances. Lehnhausen navigates the boundaries of traditional mediums such as batik, darkroom printing, and painting, reshaping them into her own methods.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I approach painting as a ritual—a series of ‘treatments’ that transform raw materials from one thing into another. Whether on canvas, muslin, or light-sensitive paper, my methods are deeply tied to the body and the environment their performed in. My own body, and those I invite into the studio—whether animals, children, or plants—leave their marks with their own particular awareness and ability.

Pictorial images, such as photographs or drawings, form the groundwork of each piece. These images serve as a foundation, but their meaning and form are radically transformed through layering, washing, and manipulation. Figures and places are absorbed into the material and often become untraceable. On raw canvas, gesso acts as a barrier, much like the beeswax used in batik, preserving certain parts while allowing others to merge. When working with dyes and pigments, the layers don’t stack but soak into each other, creating a surface where separation and blending coexist.

In the darkroom, I paint with chemicals on light sensitive paper, using negatives, objects and film projections in the process. Each gesture culminates in a moment of light, where all layers merge into a single surface. This merging and layering is central to my work; although my methods are very ordered, the nature of the materials leads to unpredictability, bleeding, and collapsing boundaries. The bottom layer often ends up on top, challenging linear perceptions of time and process. This temporal collapse mirrors the way personal and collective histories are layered, obscured, and rewritten over time.

The images I work with come from shadowy places and histories. Painful legacies woven into our blood, the discomforts of functioning within dysfunctional systems, and the kinks of everyday existence inform my practice. Influenced by my Dutch-Indonesian heritage and neurodiverse experience, I collect, dissect, and process both analogue and digital materials. Through these layered transformations, I explore how ritual, material, and stories merge and shape new forms.

CV

Education
2012-2016 – BFA, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. – Awarded the Fine Arts Prize for best graduate.

Residencies
2021 – Artist in Residence at The Grand, Amsterdam, NL
2019-2020 – Six-month residency, Batik Leksa Ganesha, Yogyakarta, ID
2019 – Three-month residency, Ruang MES 56, Yogyakarta, ID
2018 – Two-month residency, AGA Lab, Amsterdam, NL
2018 – One-month residency, Studio Kura, Itoshima, JP
2017 – One-month residency, Transfer International Ruhr, DE
2015 – One-month residency at Urbane Kunste Ruhr, DE 2015 – One-month residency at DordtYart, Dordrecht, NL

Solo/Duo Exhibitions
2020 – We Don’t Wear Long Dresses When We Work, Projectspace Plan B, Amsterdam, NL
2019 – PAPER SPIRITS / SOIL MATES, Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam, NL
2019 – Paper Traces, Ruang MES 56, Yogyakarta, ID
2018 – For Reasons Yet Unknown, Studio Kura, Itoshima, JP
2017 – KEEP IN TOUCH, Kunstliedering Halfmannshof, Gelsenkirchen, DE

Group Exhibitions
2023 – BIG ART, Amsterdam
2022 – AIR at The Grand, exhibition and auction by Christie’s, Amsterdam, NL
2019 – Prospects & Concepts, Art Rotterdam, NL
2018 – NEU/NOW Festival at Art Basel, Basel, CH
2017 – NEU/NOW Festival, Amsterdam, NL
2017 – Making Waves, Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam, NL
2017 – Matter of Time, De Cacaofabriek, Helmond, NL
2016 – Hesitation, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
2016 – Ernstig Geschikt, Studio Omstand, Arnhem, NL
2016 – Rietveld UNCUT, De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam, NL
2015 – Rietveld Mobility, Urbane Kunste Ruhr, DE
2015 – Performing a Trace, DordtYart, Dordrecht, NL

Publications
2023 – Ancient Eyes With Purple Glasses, artist book, edition of 40
2021 – Brief aan Karel, edition of 35

Screenings
2020 – Online screening and talk, Tempat Kerja, presented by Projectspace Plan B
2020 – Away to Home, supported by AFK
2019 – Screening & performance at symposium Existentie en Zingeving in de GGZ in collaboration with Professor Jim van Os
2018 – Screening & performance, Art Rotterdam in collaboration with Professor Jim van Os