Kaili Smith brings new portraits to the Grachtenmuseum
His first museum solo combines an existing series about family and Amsterdam-Noord with portraits of musicians, comedians and writers.
The Grachtenmuseum Amsterdam has been showing a solo exhibition by Kaili Smith since 1 October 2026. According to the museum, it is his first solo museum presentation. Existing paintings hang alongside portraits he made specially for this exhibition. The show, subtitled An Ode To Creativity, Canals & Family, runs until 28 February 2027.
Smith was born in the Netherlands in 1995 and grew up in Australia. According to the museum, he now works alternately in Amsterdam and New York. He earned a Master of Fine Arts at Parsons School of Design and took part in the Rijksakademie Residency Programme in Amsterdam from 2023 to 2025.
The existing paintings belong to the series An Ode To Noord and Family. In addition, Smith made new portraits for the Amsterdam exhibition. According to the museum's English exhibition page, these depict musicians, comedians and writers.
The Grachtenmuseum shows the large portraits in classical period rooms. The museum text calls the contrast between the contemporary paintings and the historic rooms an important part of the presentation. The Herengracht thus forms the setting in which Smith's new and existing work come together.
The museum has announced a public programme for each new work, including a comedy show and a live musical performance. According to the museum, the exhibition itself runs until 28 February 2027.
According to the Grachtenmuseum, this is Smith's first solo in a museum. The presentation brings together two groups of large paintings: the existing series about Noord and family and the new portraits of Amsterdam creatives.
The Grachtenmuseum is at Herengracht 386. On Mondays it is open from 12:00 to 17:00, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00. Admission closes at 16:30. A regular adult ticket costs €18.50; with a Museumkaart admission is free.