We are happy to announce Lenny Pharrel (22) from Amsterdam. For us this feels close to home, since Zongoville itself is based in the Netherlands. His addition to the gallery reflects the creative energy that is steadily growing in the Netherlands and shaping a new generation of artists.
Lenny started his path with countless visits to museums and the playful imagination of Lego. In high school art classes he found joy in drawing, a practice that became his first form of expression. He has been studying interior architecture, a path that helped refine his techniques and broaden his outlook, while painting increasingly became the medium where he feels most at home. In 2023 his work appeared during Museumnacht in Third Culture Identities with Sankofa Archives. He had already been painting before this, but the positive responses to his creation on display, Metro 55, gave him the motivation to push further and take his practice more seriously.
Even though eighteen months ago Lenny considered himself a beginner when asked about it, his actions tell a different story. He recently created work for a campaign with The New Originals and he has been involved in initiatives such as Sankofa Archives and Patta, contributing to exhibitions and community projects that highlight diaspora culture. Today his second solo exhibition, Unscripted, is on view at Bilderdijkstraat 113 in Amsterdam until 29 October 2025. The show explores freedom in painting, inviting viewers to see objects, color, and life itself in a new light, moving away from the predictable and opening space for possibility.
Lenny’s art style blends realism with projection. His work is based on his own experiences, identity, and observations, including heritage. Everyday impressions, the city, and its rhythm become material that he reshapes into paintings where the familiar meets the imaginative.
At Zongoville we value this approach, since our vision also highlights stories shaped by lived experience, heritage, and modern culture. Lenny’s presence fits naturally into that vision.
Below is a selection of his works, showing the range of his vision that we appreciate and would like to share.
→ For more, follow his journey through on @lennypharrel on instagram.
