“Harmen Meinsma is a young artist with a deeply original and far from conventional style, gaze, and imagination. With his photographs, the artist invites the viewer to enter a strange, bizarre, incongruous, and hyper-colored world, where the characters he portrays are not afraid to show themselves without filters.
Meinsma already has a well-defined stylistic signature behind him, reaching his peak in portraying men and women in a bed of unconventional beauty. The mission that Meinsma proposes is thus brought to completion among lights, glitter, fabrics, and atmospheres saturated with color and warmth.”
– Rebecca Delmenico, an independent critic and curator
Harmen Meinsma received his BA (Hons) degree from the Willem de Kooning academy in 2017. Harmen is working on vibrant personal and commissioned projects since then. His work is exhibited in New York during Photoville in 2019 and has been featured in magazines such as &C, Vogue NL and i-D.
CV
EDUCATION
2013-2017 BA Photography (hons) – Willem de Kooning academy – Rotterdam
2012-2013 BA Photography – Royal Academy of Art – The Hague
AWARDS
2020 LensCulture Street Photography Awards (finalist)
2020 SO AWARD (nominated)
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2021 Pose! (solo) – Slash Gallery – Rotterdam (upcoming)
2021 Youthquake (group) – Kunsthal – Rotterdam (upcoming)
2020 Starring You (group) – Melkweg Expo – Amsterdam (upcoming)
2020 Pose! (artist in residence) – Worm – Rotterdam
2019 Photoville (group) – New York City
2018 Museum Nacht 010 (solo) – Rotterdam
2017 Bazaar Beauties (solo) – Rotterdam
2017 Pentaprism (graduation show) – Rotterdam
2013 (On)begrensd (group) – De Affiche Galerij – Den Haag
ADVISOR/EXPERT ROLE
2020 Guest Lecturer – School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2018 Character Building – Showroom MAMA – Rotterdam
COLLECTIONS
2018 The Last Season I – Hogeschool Rotterdam
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS/PRESS
2020 Elderly Heroes – Coeval Magazine
2020 Harmen Meinsma, la vita è un gioco SuperPop. Con un’aria da commedia americana – Italian Factory Magazine
2020 Giving Birth To Dying – Coeval Magazine
2019 Superstars – &C magazine (in-print)
2019 Tommy Walton – Coeval Magazine
2019 Dit rotterdamse draghouse is van plan de wereld te bestormen – i-D
2019 Laatbloeiers – &C magazine (in-print)
2018 Talent in beeld – CJP magazine (in-print)
2018 Een vervlogen jeugd – ADCN Magazine (in-print)
2018 Portrait of Elza Jo – Vogue NL (in-print)
2017 Hollandse Beelden (in-print)
2017 Upcoming talent – Kiekie krant (in-print)
2017 The class of 2017 – Adformatie (in-print)
2016 Fashionarchitecture FW16 – de Architect
2016 Myn leave Ljouwert – Trouw (in-print)
2016 Bazaar beauty’s: de paradijsvogels van rotterdam – i-D
SELECTED INTERVIEWS
2020 Glamour op de camping in Hoek van Holland: ‘Hier is geluk nog heel gewoon’ – RTV Rijnmond
2019 Professionele dramaqueen harmen meinsma wil iedereen beroemd maken – i-D
2019 Harmen & Hannah – NPO Extra
2017 Glamour op de camping van Hoek van Holland – AD
2017 Zoeken naar paradijsvogels op de Afrikaandermarkt – OPEN Rotterdam
SELECTED CLIENTS
Vogue NL, &C, i-D, Adformatie, Gemeente Rotterdam, Showroom MAMA, NRC and Trouw