Lars Palsgraaf (1999) examines identity as a process shaped by early formation and later reinforced within social and subcultural structures. His practice focuses on the often invisible trajectories individuals follow in their search for belonging, recognition, and self-definition.
Working from within the gay community, Palsgraaf investigates mechanisms of kinship, dependency, normalization, and exclusion. He is particularly interested in how collective identities are sustained, sometimes through shared vulnerability or addiction, and how these dynamics can simultaneously offer connection and impose constraint. Rather than taking a moral stance, his work exposes the psychological and social architectures that underlie these patterns.
Research is central to his methodology. By analysing children’s drawings and engaging directly with members of the gay community, he traces parallels between early identity formation and adult social positioning. A deliberately childlike visual language functions not as nostalgia, but as a strategic reduction—stripping complex constructs back to their emotional and structural core.
Through painting and sculpture, Palsgraaf moves between figuration and abstraction, reflecting the tension between visibility and concealment. His work does not attempt to resolve identity, but to make its hidden frameworks perceptible, creating space for critical reflection and dialogue.
Exhibitions
Group Exhibitions
- 2025 July St Joost, breda; 'Climbing Through Welded Windows'
- 2025 February De fabriek, Eindhoven; 'Arca Nera'
- 2024 Club solo, Breda; ’tussen land’
- 2023 Breda; ‘Wij Zijn, Zei Hun’
- 2019 Groningen; Fotogalerie Lichtzone
Solo Exhibitions
- 2025 August Gallery Amstel 41, Amsterdam; 'It's Like Playing Life with Real Feelings'
Education
2022 - 2025, Art and Research - AKV St. Joost of Art & Design, Breda
2020 - 2021, Photography - Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten / Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK)