In collaboration with Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF), raam art space presents Fecund Ground, a group exhibition rooted in the legacy of one of the most influential archives and platforms for queer art. Based in Los Angeles, Tom of Finland Foundation supports artists working with sexuality, identity, and representation through its Artist-in-Residence Programme and archive.
The exhibition brings together artists connected to the ToFF Residency alongside a selection of Dutch artists. Working across painting, sculpture, textile and installation, their practices engage directly with queer visibility and lived experience. With LGBTQIA+ rights still under pressure, the exhibition looks at both the fragility and the persistence and resilience of queer culture. Identity here is not presented as fixed, but as something continuously shaped through experience, image, material, and gesture.
The exhibition opens on Friday, July 24 at raam art space, Oosterdokskade 161, during Amsterdam Pride, as part of the wider WorldPride programme across the city. From August 2–8, raam art space and ToFF will host a parallel programme featuring artist talks, workshops, performances and community events.
Artists: Bas Kosters, Bart Julius Peters, Enrique Agudo, Éamon McGivern, JJ Guest, Łukasz Leja, Sam Ashby, Sal Salandra en Yamuna Forzani.
Events Program 2 - 8 aug
August 4 - AiR Talk (Bas, Lukasz, Carlos)
Lukasz Leja
Łukasz Leja(he/him) is a Polish figurative painter based in New York City. Working primarily in oil on canvas, his practice draws on his background in architecture and centers on themes of queer love, intimacy, and kink. Leja often incorporates himself into the work through staged photographs taken with completed paintings.
Łukasz presents two new paintings that (in the view of the exhibition's curators) invite comparison with works by Bastille from the RoB Gallery archive. While unmistakably contemporary, the paintings echo aspects of Bastille's visual language, establishing a subtle conversation between contemporary practice and historical material.
He is the recipient of the 2022 Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Award. Since then, he has presented three solo exhibitions: home is where the h<3rd is in New York City (2024), Luke of Poland in Los Angeles (2025), and Satyriasis in Paris, France (2026).
Bas Kosters
Bas Kosters As an artist and designer, Bas Kosters is driven by commitment and compassion. He creates worlds inhabited by radiant, alarming and endearing figures that reflect his social engagement. No matter the discipline, Bas works vigorously and with enthusiasm. He is especially fond of textile and graphic art, which he uses to express and celebrate personal and societal themes. He approaches difficult emotions in a light-footed way, with subtle and sometimes wry humor and his trademark texts. Bas’ fascination for cartoon characters, visualizations and erotica leads to a reality full of friction, full of different views that compete for your attention.
Carlos Enfedaque
Carlos Enfedaque, is a Berlin-based painter from Spain. After finishing his Masters program in 2018 he moved to Berlin where he’s based ever since. His work has been exhibited at such venues as SETAREH Berlin, Galería Nueva in Madrid or “Las Naves” Centro de Creación Contemporánea in Valencia.
Carlos' main medium is oil on linen. His paintings, consist mostly of human figures and portraits, his interest lies in the ambiguity of identity, playfully questioning the perception of the viewer. He believes in painting as an impulsive and intuitive act in order to create a fresh and direct expression.
Enfedaque was the Artist in Residence at TOM House in 2025 and 2026.
August 5 - Mr. Riegillio
MR. Riegillio
MR. Riegillio is a leading queer and fetish fashion brand based in the Netherlands, dedicated to blurring the line between street and fetish fashion. Their mission is to challenge conventions and make kink and fetish a powerful and accepted part of mainstream fashion.
Named after our Designer-in-Chief and co-founder, Riegillio, they launched in May 2018. With tens of thousands of customers worldwide, they seized the opportunity to open their first brick-and-mortar store. Located on the heart of Amsterdam’s most vibrant, LGBTQIA+ friendly street, our flagship store, House of Riegillio Amsterdam, opened its doors in July 2023. And almost exactly two years later they celebrated opening our second flagship store, House of Riegillio Berlin.
Durk
Behind every king is... another king. MR. Riegillio was founded in 2018 by Riegillio and Durk. While Riegillio is the face of the brand, Durk is the driving force behind the scenes, taking care of sales, marketing, and finance. His dedication was recognized by the community when he was voted Person of the Year at the X-Awards during Darklands last year.
August 8 - Lisette Ros
For the exhibition ‘Fecund Ground’ artist Lisette Ros performce a live performance of her work ‘...Elk rondje is anders, World pride edition at raam art space’. Rooted in the rhythm, repetition, and rituals of Dutch Gabber culture, the work draws from a now-iconic early ’90s rave moment: “Ik loop de hele avond rondjes... elk rondje is anders” (“I walk in circles... every circle is different”).
In this performance intervention, circling becomes both choreography and commentary, mapping invisible histories and tracing the ghostlines of subcultural space. For this edition, Ros will mark public space and the outdoor environment with her Nike Air Max 90 footprints, specially adapted for this special occasion at raam art space.
Bas Kosters, We are all here – Dat Bolwerck