Zema Contemporary
Between Barcelona and Amsterdam
A conversation on curatorial identity, cultural geographies, and the value of slower, more sustained forms of artistic dialogue.
It is with great pleasure that Nordrom Kunst publishes this conversation with Zema Contemporary, a gallery whose trajectory between Barcelona and Amsterdam reflects a thoughtful and distinctive approach to contemporary art. Moving across different cultural geographies while maintaining a precise curatorial identity, Zema Contemporary has developed a programme attentive to complexity, artistic coherence, and the value of sustained dialogue.
Founded in Barcelona and later expanded to Amsterdam, the gallery emerged from a desire to create a platform for artists working across diverse cultural and geographic contexts, with particular attention to practices connected to the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Caucasus, while remaining open to a broader international dialogue. What distinguishes Zema Contemporary is not simply the range of its programme, but the clarity with which it positions artistic practices within a wider field of historical, cultural, and critical reflection.
In a moment when much of the contemporary art world appears increasingly shaped by speed, visibility, and short-lived attention, the gallery articulates a different rhythm. Its vision suggests a curatorial model grounded less in reaction and more in continuity: one that privileges long-term relationships, careful positioning, and forms of artistic research capable of unfolding gradually over time.
In this exchange, Stefan Ragimov and Takhmin Mirzoev reflect on the conditions that shaped the gallery’s movement from Barcelona to Amsterdam, the qualities they seek in the artists they choose to work with, and the kind of dialogue they hope to foster in the years ahead.
Nordrom Kunst
Zema Contemporary started in Barcelona and later expanded to Amsterdam. What was the vision behind this move, and how do the cultural environments of these two cities influence the way you present artists and exhibitions?
Zema Contemporary
Zema Contemporary was founded in Barcelona with the intention of creating a platform for artists working across diverse cultural and geographic contexts, particularly those connected to the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Caucasus, alongside a broader international dialogue. Barcelona offered an inspiring and historically layered environment, but it also presented certain limitations in terms of market engagement and collector infrastructure.
The move toward Amsterdam was driven by the desire to situate the gallery within a more internationally connected and commercially active art ecosystem. Amsterdam provides a different kind of audience, one that is deeply engaged with contemporary discourse while also maintaining strong ties to the global art market.
The contrast between the two cities has been important. Barcelona encourages a more experimental and exploratory curatorial approach, while Amsterdam pushes us to refine how we communicate and position our artists within a broader international context. Together, these experiences have shaped a programme that balances critical depth with clarity and accessibility.
The movement between Barcelona and Amsterdam appears, then, not merely as a geographical expansion, but as a curatorial recalibration. One city offers the space for experimentation and layered inquiry, while the other sharpens the gallery’s ability to articulate its programme within a more globally interconnected context. Between these two environments, Zema Contemporary has built a language that remains intellectually grounded while also attentive to the systems through which contemporary art circulates and is received.
Nordrom Kunst
Your programme brings together artists from different geographies and cultural backgrounds. When you decide to work with an artist, what is the essential quality you look for in their work?
Zema Contemporary
The essential quality we look for is a strong and coherent artistic language. This does not necessarily mean a fixed style, but rather a clear internal logic and necessity within the work.
We are particularly drawn to artists who engage with their context in a meaningful way, whether cultural, historical, or personal, without becoming illustrative or didactic. The work needs to stand independently, while still carrying layers that unfold over time.
Another important aspect is commitment. Artists we work with tend to have a long-term vision and a willingness to develop their practice beyond immediate trends. This allows us to build sustained dialogues rather than isolated presentations.
What emerges here is a curatorial sensitivity to practices that resist simplification. Rather than favouring immediacy or recognisable stylistic gestures alone, Zema Contemporary places emphasis on internal necessity, depth of engagement, and the possibility for meaning to unfold over time. Their position is especially resonant in relation to artists whose works are rooted in lived histories, cultural memory, and personal or political contexts, yet never collapse into mere illustration. The gallery’s commitment, in this sense, is not only to presentation, but to duration.
Nordrom Kunst
In a contemporary art world that often moves quickly from trend to trend, what kind of artistic dialogue or curatorial direction do you hope Zema Contemporary will contribute to in the coming years?
Zema Contemporary
Rather than responding to rapid cycles of visibility, we see Zema Contemporary as contributing to a slower and more reflective dialogue. The aim is to create continuity in a landscape that often prioritises immediacy.
Our curatorial direction focuses on building relationships between artists and ideas across time, geography, and medium. This includes giving space to practices that may not align with dominant narratives but offer depth, complexity, and longevity.
In the coming years, we hope the gallery can function as a point of connection between different cultural perspectives, while maintaining a clear curatorial identity. The goal is not only to present exhibitions, but to contribute to a more sustained and meaningful engagement with contemporary art.
This final reflection perhaps defines the gallery most clearly. Against the accelerated logic that so often governs the visibility of artists and exhibitions, Zema Contemporary proposes a slower and more reflective framework, one in which continuity, resonance, and complexity remain central. It is an approach that understands the gallery not simply as a site of presentation, but as a space of connection between ideas, geographies, and temporalities.
For Nordrom Kunst, it is especially meaningful to open one of its early editorial conversations with a gallery whose vision is shaped by such clarity and attentiveness. Zema Contemporary offers an example of how a contemporary programme can remain internationally engaged while preserving intellectual depth, curatorial precision, and a genuine commitment to dialogue.
photo credits Zema Contemporary
Nordrom Kunst 