28 august 2025, Flor Linckens
Remy Jungerman in dialogue with Mondrian at the Mondriaanhuis
Until 12 October, the Mondriaanhuis in Amersfoort presents the exhibition 'Off the Grid', in which the work of Remy Jungerman enters into dialogue with the practice of Piet Mondrian. Mondrian’s birthplace forms a highly symbolic location: it is here that Jungerman demonstrates how modernism, to which Mondrian made such a decisive contribution, can be reread through a global and intercultural lens. In the Netherlands Jungerman is represented by Galerie Ron Mandos.
For Jungerman, Mondrian has always been an undeniable source of inspiration, yet his work is equally shaped by his Surinamese background and the wider African diaspora. His visual language is rooted in the rituals of the Maroon people, descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped captivity and forged an independent culture in the rainforest. The geometric textiles developed within that community return in Jungerman’s art, where they engage in conversation with Mondrian’s grids and with the architectonic forms of the International Style.
In his practice, diverse materials and cultural traditions converge. Fragments of Maroon textiles, worn during Winti rituals, are combined with kaolin clay, used for spiritual purification, and wooden constructions that evoke altars and ritual objects. Jungerman juxtaposes these elements with geometric structures and compositions that recall De Stijl and the modernism of the 20th century. In doing so, he traces lines between cultures that are often presented in isolation within art history. His work demonstrates that modernist abstraction was never a solely European phenomenon but one nourished by global influences and exchanges.
For the Mondriaanhuis, Jungerman created new works, including the installation "Three Rivers". In it, he links three waterways that symbolise his life and artistic journey: the Cottica in Moengo, where he was born, the Amstel in Amsterdam and the Hudson in New York, the two cities between which he now divides his time. The work reveals how personal trajectories, migration and global histories intersect. With "Three Rivers", Jungerman not only reflects on his own path but also on the historical ties between the Netherlands, Suriname and the United States, shaped by the transatlantic slave trade and its enduring impact on religious and artistic traditions. But it is also about other forms of exchange between the three countries. As Jungerman observes: “Mondrian himself is a powerful example of this movement: he left his homeland, immersed himself in a new culture [In New York City, ed.] and enriched his work by absorbing influences from Black culture and the rhythms of jazz in his later paintings.”
A second new work, "Posu YAW", honours Mondrian in the room where his early paintings are displayed. The title of the work refers to "posu", meaning altar or shrine in the Surinam language Sranan Tongo, and to "Yaw", a Ghanaian name that is traditionally given to children that are born on a Thursday. Mondrian was born on Thursday 7 March 1872. That way, Jungerman connects Mondrian’s life story with Ghanaian practices that travelled to Suriname through the history of slavery.
Alongside these new works the exhibition presents a selection of earlier pieces by Jungerman. Together, they reveal an artist who consistently seeks to bring visual languages, religions and cultural traditions from different continents into conversation. His art underscores that the canon of modernism cannot be disentangled from migration, colonial legacies and global exchange, but has been fundamentally shaped by them.
Remy Jungerman was born in 1959 in Moengo, Suriname. After studying at the Academy for Higher Arts and Cultural Studies in Paramaribo, he continued his education at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. He later participated in residencies at Art Omi and the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York, as well as at the Tembe Art Centre in Moengo. In 2019, he represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale with Iris Kensmil. Two years later, his work was the subject of a major survey at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and in 2022 he received the Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Art. His work has also been exhibited at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Centraal Museum, Museum Arnhem, the Brooklyn Museum, the Katonah Museum of Art in New York and Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. It is held in collections including those of the Stedelijk Museum, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Centraal Museum, ABN AMRO and the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston. Between 2019 and 2024, three monographs by Jungerman were published by Jap Sam Books, the first of which received multiple awards while the second and third accompanied solo exhibitions. He is also co-founder and curator of the Wakaman Project, which examines the position of artists of Surinamese origin and seeks to amplify their visibility internationally.
On Saturday 11 October at 14:30, Remy Jungerman will give an Artist Talk at the Mondriaanhuis. He will reflect on his artistic development and the new works he created for Amersfoort, and will discuss the inspirations that guide him and the significance of Mondrian for his practice.
