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Arturo Kameya
The moon wanted to be the sun, but it was too late to change, GRIMM Keizersgracht 241, Amsterdam (NL), May 22 - July 19, 2025

Arturo Kameya: The moon wanted to be the sun, but it was too late to change

Current exhibition
  • Works
  • Installation Views
  • Press release
Works
  • Arturo Kameya Mariposa nocturna, 2025 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 80 x 99 cm | 31 1/2 x 39 in (approx)
    Arturo Kameya
    Mariposa nocturna, 2025
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    80 x 99 cm | 31 1/2 x 39 in (approx)
    Sold
  • Arturo Kameya Ascención, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood panel, triptych 300 x 300 cm | 118 1/8 x 118 1/8 in (overall)
    Arturo Kameya
    Ascención, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood panel, triptych
    300 x 300 cm | 118 1/8 x 118 1/8 in (overall)
  • Arturo Kameya Two rivers against many oceans, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on canvas 100 x 100 cm | 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Two rivers against many oceans, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on canvas
    100 x 100 cm | 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in
  • Arturo Kameya Plasticity, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood, diptych 73 x 88 cm | 28 3/4 x 34 5/8 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Plasticity, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood, diptych
    73 x 88 cm | 28 3/4 x 34 5/8 in
  • Arturo Kameya God was on our side, the ref wasn’t, 2025 Acrylic and clay powder on wood, fluorescent lights 176 x 303 x 15.5 cm | 69 1/4 x 119 1/4 x 6 1/8 in (overall)
    Arturo Kameya
    God was on our side, the ref wasn’t, 2025
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood, fluorescent lights
    176 x 303 x 15.5 cm | 69 1/4 x 119 1/4 x 6 1/8 in (overall)
  • Arturo Kameya Mariposa nocturna, 2025 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 80 x 99 cm | 31 1/2 x 39 in (approx)
    Arturo Kameya
    Mariposa nocturna, 2025
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    80 x 99 cm | 31 1/2 x 39 in (approx)
    Sold
  • Arturo Kameya Pyramid II, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 65 x 50 cm | 25 5/8 x 19 3/4 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Pyramid II, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    65 x 50 cm | 25 5/8 x 19 3/4 in
  • Arturo Kameya Torino de Talara, 2025 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 100 x 161 cm | 39 3/8 x 63 3/8 in (approx)
    Arturo Kameya
    Torino de Talara, 2025
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    100 x 161 cm | 39 3/8 x 63 3/8 in (approx)
  • Arturo Kameya The void, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 140 x 120 cm | 55 1/8 x 47 1/4 in
    Arturo Kameya
    The void, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    140 x 120 cm | 55 1/8 x 47 1/4 in
  • Arturo Kameya Beware of early risers, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 27.5 x 34 cm | 10 7/8 x 13 3/8 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Beware of early risers, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    27.5 x 34 cm | 10 7/8 x 13 3/8 in
  • Arturo Kameya El que paga con lo que no tiene, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 27.5 x 34 cm | 10 7/8 x 13 3/8 in
    Arturo Kameya
    El que paga con lo que no tiene, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    27.5 x 34 cm | 10 7/8 x 13 3/8 in
  • Arturo Kameya Sad eyes, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 27.5 x 34 cm | 10 7/8 x 13 3/8 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Sad eyes, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    27.5 x 34 cm | 10 7/8 x 13 3/8 in
    Sold
  • Arturo Kameya Suculentas, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 80 x 65 cm | 31 1/2 x 25 5/8 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Suculentas, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    80 x 65 cm | 31 1/2 x 25 5/8 in
    Sold
  • Arturo Kameya ¿Qué hora es?...¿Qué vamos a comer?, 2025 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 120.5 x 111 cm | 47 1/2 x 43 3/4 in
    Arturo Kameya
    ¿Qué hora es?...¿Qué vamos a comer?, 2025
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    120.5 x 111 cm | 47 1/2 x 43 3/4 in
    Sold
  • Arturo Kameya Gallinazos, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood 50 x 45 x 1.2 cm | 19 3/4 x 17 3/4 x 1/2 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Gallinazos, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood
    50 x 45 x 1.2 cm | 19 3/4 x 17 3/4 x 1/2 in
    Sold
  • Arturo Kameya Juanetes, 2024 Acrylic and clay powder on wood, triptych 120 x 360 cm | 47 1/4 x 141 3/4 in
    Arturo Kameya
    Juanetes, 2024
    Acrylic and clay powder on wood, triptych
    120 x 360 cm | 47 1/4 x 141 3/4 in
Installation Views
  • Installation Views Arturo Kameya The Moon Wanted To Be The Sun But It Was Too Late To Change 2025 Grimm Amsterdam Nl 26
  • Installation Views Arturo Kameya The Moon Wanted To Be The Sun But It Was Too Late To Change 2025 Grimm Amsterdam Nl 3
  • Installation Views Arturo Kameya The Moon Wanted To Be The Sun But It Was Too Late To Change 2025 Grimm Amsterdam Nl 13
  • Installation Views Arturo Kameya The Moon Wanted To Be The Sun But It Was Too Late To Change 2025 Grimm Amsterdam Nl 5
  • Installation Views Arturo Kameya The Moon Wanted To Be The Sun But It Was Too Late To Change 2025 Grimm Amsterdam Nl 1
  • Installation Views Arturo Kameya The Moon Wanted To Be The Sun But It Was Too Late To Change 2025 Grimm Amsterdam Nl 2
  • Grimm Arturo K Installs High Res Jdewaart 21 5 25 18
  • Installation Views Arturo Kameya The Moon Wanted To Be The Sun But It Was Too Late To Change 2025 Grimm Amsterdam Nl 12
Press release
Arturo Kameya in his studio, 2023 | Image by Jonathan de Waart
Arturo Kameya in his studio, 2023 | Image by Jonathan de Waart
View works

Click here to RSVP to Arturo Kameya's artist talk with Valentijn Byvanck on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 3 pm at GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL).



GRIMM is pleased to present Arturo Kameya's new solo exhibition, which will open on Thursday, May 22, at the Amsterdam gallery during Amsterdam Art Week 2025 (May 22-25, 2025).

Arturo Kameya’s work examines the narratives and myths that comprise different versions of Peru's socio-political history. Works in various media are often grouped together to create large-scale installations that delineate connections between disparate historical events by linking together a range of visual cultural languages that have been formed over time.

Kameya’s work has garnered international attention for its investigative and direct critical depictions of his native country, Peru, which narrates both the troubling and familiar aspects of Peruvian society. The country’s depicted troubled past and present holds direct universal truths that surpass the geographic location and touch upon universal contemporary existential issues.

Underscoring the universal themes in his work, among them displacement, culture and identity, Kameya was inspired by the ideas of writer and poet Édouard Glissant (1928-2011), known for his work in postcolonial theory and the complex relationships between cultures. He laid the foundation for the thought that identities are not fixed but arise through a continuous dialogue and cross-pollination of different influences.

"Furthermore, an identity that does not define itself through a root anchored in the soil or territory is an identity without a defined beginning, a germinal foundation; instead, it presents a relational development. For this reason, it is an identity without Original Sin, without an inherited debt, and without shame for being or existing. Debt, whether literal or symbolic, is an underlying condition based not only on economic aspects but also on cultural, epistemic, spiritual and emotional ones. However, no matter how stubborn these identities may be, islands seem to have an increasingly definitive fate: disappearance. The glaciers will finish melting, the tides will rise, and the sea will erase all evidence of those micro-medium identities."  - Arturo Kameya

Kameya uses this description of identity as a metaphor for ‘islands’ in his work: unrooted, transparent, and a form of protest against the homogeneous concept of culture. The paintings in this exhibition are based on Kameya’s own memories.

About the artist

Arturo Kameya (b. 1984 in Lima, PE) attended the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima (PE) and was a resident at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (NL). He is the winner of the De Wolvecampprijs 2024. This year, Kameya is part of the group exhibition Your Ears Will Later Know to Listen, at Nottingham Contemporary (UK), on view from May 31 to September 7. He will present new work in the Statements sector at Art Basel (CH) from June 19 to June 22, 2025. Following this, he will have a solo exhibition at Centre d’Art Saint-Fons, CAP, Lyon (FR), opening in Fall.

Selected recent exhibitions include Prospect.6: The Future Is Present, The Harbinger Is Home, New Orleans, LA (US) in 2024; Opaque Spirits, Marres, Maastricht (NL) in 2024; Toward the Celestial, ICA, Miami, FL (US) in 2024; Los Ovnis, GRIMM, New York, NY (US) in 2023; Memory is an Editing Station, 22nd Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil, São Paulo (BR) in 2023; En esa pulga se mezcla nuestra sangre / In that flea, our blood mixes, GRIMM, New York, NY (US) in 2021; Drylands, Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht (NL) in 2021; Soft Water Hard Stone, New Museum Triennial, New York, NY (US) in 2021.

Kameya's work is part of numerous collections including the ABN AMRO Collection (NL); Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection (US); THE EKARD COLLECTION; ING Collection (NL); Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL (US); Museo de Arte de Lima, MALI (PE) and Saastamoinen Foundation (FI).

Download Press Release

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Keizersgracht 241

1016 EA, Amsterdam

The Netherlands

2 Bourdon Street

London, W1K 3PA

United Kingdom

 

54 White Street

New York, NY 10013

United States

 

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