Neil Fortune, (b. 1983 Georgetown Guyana) Is known for a distinctive approach and application of textiles to create his sculpture. that demonstrates the material ability to transform and simultaneously communicate and withhold. Fortune began his formative years at the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in Suriname, where he received training as a painter. He later moved to Amsterdam to study fine arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, earning his B.A. degree in the arts. Neil Fortune’s artistic practice range including sculpture, drawing, painting, and architectural intervention, with a strong social aspect. His focus is to explore the possibilities of materials and how they tell stories and shape our imaginations. His work aims to create tangible experiences through bridge colors and the allure of shiny, shimmering objects, bring forth positive engagement through art. A notable feature of his recent project is a collection of personal stories titled ‘Traces of a Conversation.’ These stories are obtained through conversations and interactions with people from diverse communities, redefining boundaries and historical normatives. In doing so, he applies his own frameworks and ground rules to question and broaden existing boundaries convention. Fortune’s work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions at various institutions, such as M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp) in ‘Lonely at the Top: State of L3,’ TENT Rotterdam in ‘Paramaribo Perspectives,’ and Kunst Museum Den Haag Annual Salon Show. His solo exhibition, ‘Distorted Reality,’ was exhibited in the Polar Room at W139 in Amsterdam. In 2017, his work was nominated as the winner at the annual Summer Show hosted at Nieuw Dakota and Francis Boeske Projects in Amsterdam. International, his work has gained recognition, with exhibitions at Gray Contemporary in Houston, Texas, USA. Neil Fortune has participated in several residency programs at various locations, including Moengo in Suriname, Park Tilburg, Plan B Amsterdam, Ongekend Zeedijk Amsterdam, and most recently at Stichting Plaatsmaken in Arnhem. Currently, Neil Fortune is showing works at the Amsterdam Museum at the exhibition ‘Collecting The City 4#.
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Education
2002-2006 Nola Hatterman Art Academy Paramaribo
2007-2011 Gerrit Rietveld Academy B.A Fine Art, Amsterdam
Current teaching Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam
Invited as a guest instructor at ArtEZ University of the Art, Zwolle, NL
Award
2017 Winner of the Summer Show, Nieuw Dakota + Francis Boeske Projects, Amsterdam
Solo exhibition
2022 Liminality, Summer residency at PARK Tilburg.
2022 TRACES OF A CONVERSATION, Residency at PLANB, Amsterdam (NOORD)
2019 Colorful Ribs and Guts of Adam, Gray Contemporary Houston Texas (USA)
2018 Distorted Reality W139 polar room, Amsterdam
2016 Friction in The Space Between Gallery 23, Amsterdam
2013 What is on the other side of the moon? Gallery 23, Amsterdam
Group exhibition
2024 Colleting The City 4# Amsterdam Museum, up until 25- 01 – 2025.
2023 Herbarium At Plaatsmaken Arnhem, Nl
2021 ONGEKEND ZEEDIJK currently on view in the etalage at Zeedijk, Amsterdam
2021 1e Edition Summer exhibition at Grove Collective London, UK
2021 ART ROTTERDAM with Josilda da Conceicao Gallery Amsterdam
2020 Soft Art, 1/18 October 2020 SBK KNSM /Loods 6 Amsterdam
2019 Matter, Gray Contemporary in Houston, TX, US
2019 The Personal is Political, Josilda da Conceicao Gallery,
2018 How One Thing Leads to Another, Josilda da Conceicao Gallery, Amsterdam
2018 Dutch Colorist, Dedee Shattuck Gallery in Westport Massachusetts (USA)
2018 Moengo Festival Triennial Tembe fu libi #2, Suriname, Exhibition was supported by Mondriaan Fonds, NL
2018 Depth over Distance, VOX-POP Creative space of UVA, Amsterdam
2018 The sky is no man’s land, at Adyen (new office building) Amsterdam
2017 On Material Space project, Amsterdam
2017 Textile Contemporary Manifactogaller, Amsterdam
2017 A World Away winners edition Francis Boeske Projects, Amsterdam
2017 30-Jaar CBK Zuidoost, Amsterdam
2016 Open Ateliers Nieuw market VOX-POP, Amsterdam
2016 Summer Show Nieuw Dakota + Francis Boeske Projects, Amsterdam
2015 Zuiver Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam
2015 Summershow Nieuw Dakota + Francis Boeske Projects, Amsterdam
2014 Summershow Nieuw Dakota + Francis Boeske Projects, Amsterdam
2014 Tekening op Tafel buiksloter kerk, Amsterdam
2013 Light summer expo Gemeente Museum, Den Haag
2013 AMFAD Amsterdam fashion, art & design, Amsterdam
2013 Remy Jungerman and Friends, Studio Remy Jungerman, Amsterdam
2012 Gallery artist-guest C&H art space, Amsterdam
2011 Local Hero, CBK ZUID OOST, Amsterdam
2011 Carr-Fortune-Holst VS. Hercules and the TETO PROJECT, Amsterdam
2011 Hell and High water at Zeemanshuis, Amsterdam
2010 Lonely at the top: Parallel Doors of Perception, M HKA Antwerp
2010 Paramaribo Perspectives at TENT, Rotterdam
2010 Modernity and Aesthetics of the New Black Atlantic’, Smart Project Space Amsterdam
2010 Exhibition ‘OK’ at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam
2010 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam https://vimeo.com/8369904
2007 Roots of migration at Museum Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo
Work in collections NL, USA, SR
Publications
2021 Ongekend Zeedijk
2020 Textil Plus
2016 De grote Amsterdamse kalender
2015 I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING UNTIL I FEEL THE NEED, Jaarloze kalender, Amsterdam
2012 MISTER MOTLEY, Nr 32 p. 182 – 186
2010 Interview NRC Handelsblad -Een nieuwe generatie Surinaamse kunstenaars-
2010 Conversation on Paramaribo Perspectives TENT, Rotterdam
2009 Paramaribo SPANG (Hedendaagse beeldende kunst in Suriname )