Anna Ruth: Close Quarters

GRIMM, Amsterdam, NL

Anna Ruth’s exhibition Close Quarters opened recently at Grimm Gallery in Amsterdam and runs until May 23. In what is her debut solo exhibition with the gallery, Ruth presents a body of work that is both deeply personal and yet uniquely universal. The exhibition marries Ruth’s cloudy memories with a fantastical sensuality. The sense of ambiguity that permeates the space, a central tenet in the way in which she communicates stories and lets symbols speak for themselves.

Be it through natural forms such as the elegance of a swan or the fragility of a flower, humans, if we should call them that, become background noise—less important than the emotional sensitivities that Ruth brings instead to our attention. Color plays its role. Washed hues of ochre make definition unimportant. Instead, moments appear, such as a drifting hand, an adorned bedpost, or a ‘Pearl Snail’, all of which carry a lightness weighed down only by the interpretation of the viewer. What the viewer wishes to do with the image presented remains their choice. Imbue meaning, sadness, heaviness, loss, or instead, let the paintings drift, as they somehow appear to, through the expansive gallery space.

Czech-born and raised, and a graduate of the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Ruth is a storyteller rooted in her rural ancestry. The chomout, a traditional horse collar, appears within the exhibition as a mirror sculpture and dressing table. The work has a prominent physical presence in the space, but to me it also plays a central role in the overarching narrative. A symbol of marriage, representing the ‘harnessing’ of a groom to his newfound marital responsibilities, it speaks of cultural narratives and Ruth’s connection to the landscape. Reducing the division between us and those that inhabit our natural world.

For more information, please consult GRIMM’s website here →

Installation view of "Anna Ruth: Close Quarters" (2026) at GRIMM, Amsterdam, NL.

Last Updated on May 6, 2026

Published on May 6, 2026

About the author:

Thom Oosterhof is an independent curator based in Amsterdam. His curatorial projects champion our future voices within the contemporary space. Working with recent graduates, mid-career & established artists, his projects emphasise conversations and ideas within the contemporary dialogue. As a curator, writer and advisor, he has worked with contemporary art galleries, institutions, collections and registered companies across the globe. He has curated exhibitions internationally with galleries such as NBB Gallery (Berlin), Gerhard Hofland (Amsterdam), NightCafe Gallery (London), Monti8 (Rome), Marian Cramer (Amsterdam), Hurst Contemporary (London), Le Mont Art Space (Taiwan), Ruzy Gallery (Istanbul) with platforms such as 24HDROP, 4bySIX, Clovermill Artist Residency and Candid House. Voted a ‘Curator to Watch in 2024’ by FollowArt, he has curated exhibitions as part of the Istanbul Biennale 2025 programme and the 20th edition of Contemporary Istanbul. Additionally, he is the Head Curator at The Dean Hotel in Berlin.