Arturo Kameya Born 1984, Lima (PE)
Lives and works in Amsterdam (NL)

Arturo Kameya examines the narratives and myths that comprise different versions of history, with a distinct focus on the legacy of indigenous cultures. Kameya works in various media, including acrylic, plaster, film, and printmaking, often arranging works together to create larger installations. (Found) objects are personified as witnesses of history—Kameya imbues them with a new life, beyond their existence as material evidence of the past. The artist creates connections between disparate historical events linking the visual languages of cultures over time. 

Kameya’s recent paintings recall the artist’s formative memories from his childhood in the suburbs of Lima, Peru. A celebration of the artist’s origins and the local culture of Lima are embodied through a collection of familiar, yet ghostly objects that appear worn like family heirlooms. Themes from 1990s Peruvian pop culture, such as the style of local musicians, science fiction television programs and comics are interwoven in Kameya’s installations. Dislodged from regional culture and introduced into the context of the gallery space, the works serve as beacons of a time and place, projected in a foreign domain. Collectively, Kameya’s works simulate the creation of an alternate reality constructed from facets of the artist’s identity, fixed in a physical, symbolic form. 

Arturo Kameya (b. 1984 in Lima, PE) lives and works in Amsterdam (NL). Kameya attended the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima (PE) from 2002-2008 and is currently a resident at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (NL) graduating in November 2020. In 2012 Kameya was awarded second place at the ICPNA National Photography Show in Lima (PE). Solo exhibitons include, Depósito de Sombras, Alliance Française, Lima (PE); Allá en el Caserío, Acá en el Matorral (with Claudia Martínez Garay) Ginsberg Galeria, Lima (PE); Ghosts Don’t Care if You Believe in Them, Hotel Maria Kapel, Hoorn (NL) ; Ghost Stories, Alliance Française, Lima (PE); Ciencia Ficción, Wu Gallery, Lima (PE); Land at the End of the Sea (with Claudia Martínez Garay), Galería del Centro Cultural Británico de San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima (PE). Group exhibitions include OPEN, Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (NL); Rivers Flow Out of My Eyes, curated by Madelon van Schie, tegenboschvanvreden, Amsterdam (NL); and Sharjah Film Program, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah (AE); Percepciones Contemporáneas, C.C. Ccori Wasi, Lima (PE); Temporal Analogies, Wu Gallery, Lima (PE); Passport for an Artist Competition, organized by the French Embassy of Peru and The Alliance Française, Lima (PE), among others.