Kensise
Anders
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was born in Haiti, (HT), in 1997. She lives and works in Vienna, (AT).
Kensise Anders studies “painting in context“ at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Anders has created a unique artistic practice in which crocheting techniques, painting, sculpture and performance blend in one another. She began her career on social media accounts on which she created her own content, presented crocheted objects, performances and anti-fashion, reflecting on meme culture, racism and post-migrant identity.
During her time at the academy, Anders has developed a special technique for her paintings: She crochets wool threads in various shades, lengths and color combinations and applies them to the canvas like brushstrokes. The effect is both painterly and sculptural. Recently Anders has ‘adopted’ freaky dolls, giving them new appearances in her series “Entry Void”. The figures in Kensise Anders’ paintings are often isolated and defenceless in bright empty colorfields. She uses allusions to Color Field painting as well as the racist-charged motif of the black doll to address the existentialist idea that we are thrown into life without consent. The ‘void’ can be social circumstances, the family, but also the freedom to rebel in the face of meaninglessness. Beyond the discourses on racism, identity, and visibility, Anders’ works are also about fundamental, existential states. The acceptance that existence is finite, the confrontation with one’s death is combined with the realization that one cannot choose when and where one is born. -
Akademie der Bildende Künste Wien, (AT).
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2023 Isolated, Robert Grunenberg, Berlin, (DE)
2023 Showcase Kensise Anders, Ansa Voir, Wien (AT)
2023 teenage outback, Galerie Zweilaster, Stuttgart, (DE) -
2025 The artist is naked, Kunstpalais, Erlangen, (DE)
2024 Gegen den Strich – die Generation Z in der Kunst, Schloss Sacrow, Potsdam, (DE)
2023 Parallel Vienna Art Fair, Artcare Booth 16/206, Vienna, (AT)
2023 IMAGINE — 10 Unrealized Projects, Robert Grunenberg, Berlin, (DE)
2023 Fog Interweaving with Shoelaces, Kollektiv Zirkusgasse, Wien (AT)
2022 Club-Arte, Studio-Galerie, Vienna, (AT) -
2025 Nackt! Warum blanke Haut immer noch tabu ist. Aspekte, ZDF
2024 Selbstfixiert und fröhlich: Die Generation Z malt „Gegen den Strich“, Märkische Allgemeine
2024Ausstellung in Potsdam: “Gegen den Strich – Generation Z in der kunst”, Tagesschau
2024 Art Brussels: Konjunkturbarometer Kunstmesse, Art Magazine
2024 Gegen den Strich: Kunst der Generation Z im Potsdamer Schloss Sacrow, Tagesspiegel PNN
2022 Schwarz wird hier groß geschrieben: Nie war “Black Art” sichtbarer, Die Presse
2020 Buko – Die Wände seines Lebens, Nordwest Zeitung Online
ABOUT
Kensise Anders, Oktoberfest, 2024, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 175 × 160 cm
Kensise Anders, Der Ochs' auf der Weide, 2025, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 47 1/4 x 63 in, 120 x 160 cm
Kensise Anders, Transformation, 2025, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas 311/2 x 47 1/4 in, 80 x 120 cm
Kensise Anders, Und die Fliege, 2023, Crocheted effect yarn, acrylic yarn, acrylic on canvas, 135 × 100 cm
Kensise Anders, Puppetdance, 2024, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
Kensise Anders, Das Rote Pony, 2024, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 175 × 210 cm
Kensise Anders, Unwanted Void, 2023, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
Kensise Anders, Isolated, Installation View, Robert Grunenberg, 2023
Portrait Kensise Anders by Ekka Schoch
Kensise Anders, Unfinished Holes, 2023, Acrylic, crepe paper and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
Kensise Anders, Entry Void III, 2024, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 95 × 90 cm
Kensise Anders, Unknown, 2023, Acryl und Baumwollhäkelfäden auf Leinwand, 45,5 x 70 cm
Kensise Anders, Isolated, Installation View, Robert Grunenberg, 2023
Kensise Anders, Conclusion, 2023, Acrylic, crepe paper and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 125 x 150 cm
Kensise Anders, Performance "Alman Starter Set", (c) Axel Dau
Kensise Anders, Void Entry 1, 2024, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
Kensise Anders, Void Entry, Installation View, Robert Grunenberg, 2024
Kensise Anders, Void Entry 2, 2024, Acrylic and cotton crochet threads on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
Performance by Kensise Anders in a crochet threads face mask and body suite, dimension variable
Kensise Anders, Alman Starter Set, 2023, crochet threads face mask and body suite, dimension variable
Portrait Kensise Anders by Ekka Schoch
Kensise Anders, Hibiskus, 2023, Crocheted wool/yarn glued on covered linen, pasted crepe paper, acrylic paint, 100 x 100 cm
past exhibitions