After spending some time in Japan, there’s one thing Daphne misses most: the bath. Not just any bath, but an onsen, a sento. You wash yourself thoroughly, submerge yourself for a moment, and somewhere in that warm water, something slowly dissolves. This also creates space for connection, because you share this bath, and that calls for certain rituals and customs. The quiet, collective responsibility surrounding bathing in Japan is something that stayed with Daphne. Daphne Bleeker is a painter from Amsterdam; her work revolves around connection, imperfect beauty, and an attention to the everyday rythms. For her work at De Heg, she translates her fascinations and ideas into a spatial and poetic installation for the first time. De Heg is a former parking lot transformed into a hidden stage surrounded by greenery for art projects and performances. You can enter De Heg through an entrance at the back. From March through August 2026, a different artist will create a work of art each month specifically designed to be discovered at De Heg.

Project Statement: "Sweet Cheeks finding the hinge in a sliding door" Daphne Bleeker (she/her) is an Amsterdam-based painter whose practice centers on connection, imperfect beauty and attention for the everyday life moments. In pursuit of introspection, she spent the first two months of her residency at Arts ITOYA in Takeo, followed by one month at Studio KURA in Itoshima. Taking a metaphorical approach, she describes her artistic practice as a garden. A place where everything can grow. Some projects sprout fast and wild, while other concepts take more time to root. This residency gave her the freedom to ponder through her garden and let something new arise, while being captivated by the architecture of rural Japan and the use of materials in general. “Walking through residential areas, I observed the balance between human-crafted elements and (raw, lush) nature, the contrasts between privacy and transparency, traditional materials and omnipresent plastic. Each component tells a story of how people inhabit space.” By observing her surroundings, but also connecting to people and places she lived in, she collects fragments that she enjoys puzzeling together in her artworks. Another aspect of Japanese culture that attracted her is the way “cuteness” always finds its way into the day. Like the big Hello Kitty signs on the fencing of serious construction sites or anime illustrations on the packaging in hardware stores. And this is how “Sweet Cheeks” came to be her new medium to express, a curious character she uses to place herself within her work. Using oil paint alongside wood, washi paper and origami techniques, “Sweet Cheeks finding the hinge in a sliding door” invites you to seek that turning point where something common transforms into something sentimental.

Group exhibition Components meet, might engage, Arts ITOYA Residency, Takeo, Japan

Facade exhibition, Paradiso, Amsterdam

The Sexshop Artshow by No Limits! Art Castle THE SEXSHOP ARTSHOW is a group exhibition that celebrates the intersection of art, intimacy, and the unexpected. Can a masterpiece also be a sex toy? Where does the line between admiring an object and experiencing an object blur? In this show, EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE! Come and spend your money on the sensual and sublime, art in all its unapologetic forms. This is not just an exhibition; it is an invitation to rethink and enjoy the spaces where art and intimacy converge. At No Limits! Art Castle, we always embrace these two sides: the recognized and the overlooked, the celebrated and the stigmatized. In previous exhibitions, we have reflected on these dynamics, both in the art world and among the artists themselves. This time, we focus on the object, a work of art that lives between two worlds.

March 8 is International Women's Day. For Kiekie Art, FotoLabkiekie's creative platform, this is the perfect opportunity to go all out in March with the art project Women in Art 2023. A program to increase equal opportunities for women in the arts. This project—with international appeal—will come to full fruition in Amsterdam West and is a collaboration with 10 female curators, UN Women, WePresent by WeTransfer, and Stadsdeel West. Kiekie Art presents: Women in Art 2023. Via www.kiekie-art.com, selected female artists offer a varied selection of images. Fifteen percent of the proceeds from this online print sale will go to UN Women. The rest of the proceeds will go to the female artist.

Solo exhibition Flourishing, Nozum Studios Amsterdam