Frank Ammerlaan part of REFRESH #3 at Amsterdam Museum
Frank Ammerlaan part of REFRESH #3 at Amsterdam Museum
Frank Ammerlaan is part of group show Refresh Amsterdam #3: Imagine the Future, at Amsterdam Museum, which opens 11 July.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
What does the future look like? And who actually decides that?
For the third edition of the biennial art manifestation Refresh Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Museum invites artists and the public to dream, think, and create together. In the exhibition, they share their wishes, expectations, and fantasies for the future. Refresh Amsterdam #3: Imagine the Future will be on view from July 11 to November 30, 2025, at the Amsterdam Museum on the Amstel.
The invited 15 leading artists create work around urgent themes that impact our shared future. From visual art and performances to photography, fictional archaeology, and speculative design.
They not only explore how art and creativity can help us imagine what lies ahead, but also call on us to actively co-shape the future. A work composed of children’s drawings of the future, an installation about the seeds and plants of tomorrow, or fictional archaeological discoveries — each piece highlights how the past, present, and future are interconnected.
For the works made for this exhibition, Frank Ammerlaan drew inspiration from the book Orbital by Samantha Harvey, a poetic and philosophical story about planet Earth from the viewpoint of six astronauts inside an orbital space station. He presents patchwork paintings made from sewn together pieces of cotton and linen. Some of the cloths were soaked by rain or soiled with dust particles and earth in the open air. In others he incorporated meteorite particles. The fabrics appear faded, as if by sunlight, reminiscent of the passage of time. His work is about the “bigger picture”: the realization that everything is forever changing and in motion.
Refresh Amsterdam #3: Imagine the Future* | Amsterdam Museum
11 July - 30 November, 2025
*This exhibition is part of the celebration of 750 years of Amsterdam. It is also the largest and final exhibition of the Amsterdam Museum at its Amstel 51 location.
Image: Untitled (Bleachers series), Frank Ammerlaan, 2025
Publication date: 3 Jul '25