Marja Kennis (b. 1965, Netherlands) is a Dutch artist based in Almere, whose practice reimagines the forms of plants. Kennis collects and sculpts—leaves, petals, and branches— transforming them into ceramics that are as delicate as they are enduring. Each artifact reflects the impermanence of organic life while capturing the paradox of trying to preserve what is inevitably transient. Her technical process reflects both her intimate engagement with nature and our collective responsibility in what we allow to grow, or discard. Kennis’ devotion to repeated forms imbues each plant with symbolic weight; echoing the paradox of A rose is a Rose is a Rose — where preservation itself confronts the its transient metaphors.
Kennis’s work has been exhibited at Galerie Franzis Engels in Amsterdam and widely across the Netherlands. Notable shows include High Fired (2022) and Message from Nature (2021). Her works are part of the Prinsenhof Museum, in Delft.