About — Gijs van den Berg

Gijs van den Berg creates work that challenges how we see everyday reality. As creative director and partner at KesselsKramer, he combines hands-on craft with conceptual thinking - whether he's developing campaigns, building tools, or solving creative emergencies for clients across Amsterdam, London, and Los Angeles. He believes in getting his hands dirty. When photographing Amsterdam's last traditional coffeehouses, he developed the prints using coffee from each location. When clients need brand consistency, he builds them custom tools. When campaigns need fresh thinking, he works across disciplines - writing, designing, shooting, and coding until it clicks. His work has found homes in unexpected places: breaking a Guinness World Record for organ donation, hanging in the Reina Sofia Museum, earning an Effie award, and being nominated for the Sony World Photography Award. It's also part of the permanent collection at Moti Graphic Design and has been featured at Photoville Festival in Brooklyn. At 168cm tall in a country of giants, he's learned to stand out through creativity rather than stature. Like his surname "van den Berg" (mountain) in the flattest country on earth, his work finds ways to rise above conventions while keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

About

Selected Exhibitions

2010

MuseumN8

Group exhibition

De Balie, Amsterdam

2012

Slideluck Potshow

Group exhibition

Oude Kerk, Amsterdam

2015

Gewoon Koffie

Solo exhibition

Volkshotel, Amsterdam

2015

Malmo Fotobienal

Photofestival

Malmö, Sweden

2015

Schijt aan de Grens

Group exhibition

Vierlingsbeek, The Netherlands

2016

Gewoon Koffie

Solo exhibition

Quartier Putain, Amsterdam

2016

Modern Love

Group exhibition

KK Outlet, London

2016

Cutting Edges

Group exhibition

Kaunas, lituania

2016

Eye See Sound

Group exhibition

Studio de Keuken, Amsterdam

Selected Exhibitions (cont.)

2017

Cutting Edges

FORMAT17: Habitat

Quad Museum – Derby, UK

2017

Sony World Photo Awards

Nomination Still Life

Somerset House – London, UK

2017

Spitting Image

Festival - Schijt aan de Grens

Geijsteren, the Netherlands

2018

Souvenirs from the Sun

Solo Exhibition

The Print Space – London, UK

2019

New Amsterdam Coffeehouse

Photo festival

Photoville, New York, USA

2019

Spitting Image

Group exhibition

Vans Boutique, London

Selected Publications

2014

Straattaal

Editorial

Parool PS magazine

2015

Gewoon Koffie

Editorial

Het Parool

2016

Pizza Economy

Editorial

Verzameling, Het Parool

2017

Stadstrappertjes

Editorial

Parool PS magazine

2017

Dit is Nederland

Editorial

Vrij Nederland

2017

Hashtag Holiday

Article

Vrij Nederland

2020

25 jaar KesselsKramer

Interview

Het Parool

2023

Interview

Slanted Magazine

2024

Editorial

EW Magazine

Talks

2010

Teach Me / KK Holiday in Venice

Venice (IT)

2011

Citymarketing CCCB

Barcelona (ES)

2011

AKV St.Joost

Breda

2015

ABN Amro & Culture

Amsterdam

2017

Masterclass

for Voordekunst

2017

BNO x Dutch Design week

Eindhoven

2019

DEPT

Rotterdam

2019

Centraal Museum

Utrecht

2021

OFFF

Sevilla, Spain

2022

Serifelaris

Getxo, Spain

2023

OFFF

Barcelona, Spain

2024

Creative Express

Lisbon, Portugal

2024

ADC*E OneClub Festival

Barcelona, Spain