At Breed Art Studios in Amsterdam, I visited the exhibition ‘CARTOONESQUE: A Dialogue Between Sculpture and Painting’. Ceramic sculptures by Rob Ruimers and raw, urban, tricolour paintings by TENEDLE alternated; the paintings on the wall and the sculptures on the floor. It resulted in a cartoonish and burlesque dialogue that felt refreshing.
In his latest work, Ruimers opted for a more relativizing and humorous approach; TENEDLE showed the results of his ‘red-black-white’ period, which he went through over the past two years. He walked a path between primitive art and street art, comics and criticism. In these works, the graphic sign was more relevant than the painting technique.
Musician, performer and visual artist
Tenedle is an Italian musician, performer, and visual artist living in the Netherlands. His visual works and graphic design are largely related to his music and performance concepts. As a multimedia artist, he uses color graphics and creates puppets and videos, entering a world of ironic, grotesque, and primitive symbols. He is strongly influenced by Expressionism, with a critical view of modern society, and opposes violence and war.
No Weapon World
I speak with Tenedle about his work at Café Kobalt in Amsterdam, right at the beginning of the Singel, not far from Central Station. The café is packed. Tenedle: “In 2024, I participated in the exhibition NoWeapon.world, which was on display at various locations in Europe, in addition to Breed Art Studios. In red, black, and white, I created a painting of a rain of bombs—bombs coming down on people, depicted as eyes and hands in the sky. At the bottom is Mother Earth, who also succumbs to the bombs and surrenders to human violence. It was an idea for a personal poster for the traveling exhibition.”
The work is very expressionistic, just like the other works of his in the exhibition. “I love expressionism. At the same time, I am very dreamy. With the No Weapon poster, I conveyed the message that the idea ‘the solution is war’ is a wrong notion. War brings only destruction and further horror. It causes a major setback in the progress of humanity.”
He has always been a lover of the primary colors, he adds. “Red-black-white. When I walk down the street, I also pay attention to graphic symbols, including primitive ones. Letters interest me too.”
Inspiration
Tenedle comes from Florence and has lived in the Netherlands for 18 years now. He is ‘fused’ with a feeling about society, he says. “I draw my inspiration from newspapers, the radio, and debates. I write lyrical poems, which I also set to music. There is also irony in the lyricism. I have always been inspired by artistic expressions that establish a connection with the social world. There is plenty of that in Italy, for example, the work of filmmakers Pasolini and Fellini. Or the lyrics of songwriter Luigi Tenco, who died young. But it can also already be seen in painting in the Quattrocento (15th-century Italian early Renaissance). And nowadays in Post-punk, with socially engaged, critical work.”
Performing in Europe
He performs as a musician in the Netherlands (Paradiso) and various cities in Europe (London, Barcelona, Italy). He usually does so with two or three other musicians. He sings, plays guitar, keyboards, and synthesizer. At the performances, songs from the most recent album are played in combination with a visual show. The songs can be seen on his YouTube channels. He had his last performance last summer. He is currently working on compiling a new music album. “It is about Japanese society; it is also socially critical. It is about Japan in the time before the country’s modernization.”
Tenedle’s real name is Dimitri Niccolai. Why did he choose this stage name? “An uncle of mine was stationed in Sardinia as an Italian soldier. There, he was involved with secret codes, among other things. He visited us in Florence once and gave me and my brothers and sisters new names based on secret codes. Some letters of your original name could be found in them. That is how the name Tenedle came about for me. I think it is a beautiful name, and the story behind it is especially beautiful.”
How long has he been an artist?
“As a child, I already had ideas in an artistic direction. I was always fighting for my place in the world. I believed that music and art were my light on the world, my reason for existence. Our family was part of the working class in Florence. So art was not a given. It was difficult to build a livelihood with it, particularly to realize deeper ideas.
After high school, I went to the Instituto d’ Arte Florence, but I didn’t finish it; I found music more important. I took a short course in interior design. That allowed me to start earning a living. But at the same time, I was making music and taking courses in media, TV, film, and sound design. And also an evening course in Audiovisual with a number of teachers from the film world.”
In 1993, he met Inge, a Dutch woman studying in Florence. The love was mutual, and he moved with her to Leeuwarden, where he worked at an interior design shop, among other places. In the attic of a farmhouse in Friesland, he began painting large canvases. They frequently visited museums, including all the major ones, and saw works by Kandinsky and Chagall, among others.
What is his experience with the art world?
“I visit many exhibitions. Dutch society has a good relationship with art; there is a lot of subsidy. At the same time, there are limits to that subsidization. Socially, Dutch society is fantastic, the environment is healthy, but you are in competition with many people.
The music world, in which I am primarily active, is more commercially oriented and more fleeting. It is ‘use and throw away’. You also see that the audience is less attentive and patient.”
It costs a lot to organize performances and albums. “I’m being a bit cautious with performances right now. I’m mainly trying to reach an audience through exhibiting. That’s a bit less heavy.”
Finally, what is his philosophy?
“I will certainly continue. I still feel that I can develop and grow further. Everything I have done are just small steps on a longer path. Every now and then you get rewards; I have won prizes in music. This way you stay young, you stay a child. It cannot go wrong. The word for music in every language is to play, giocare (Italian), jugar (Spanish), jouer (French). You keep playing your whole life, that is what makes it beautiful.”
“Creating, bringing something that is in your head to fruition, is the most beautiful thing there is. I now have a good environment to work in and I have built up a good reputation. I do not get stuck in a single discipline. I now have a more mature self-expression, close to spirituality and liberation. I believe in art as a means to save the world. But first, I must save myself. The engine is within.”
Images: 1) CETI, Acrylic & Collage on Canvas, 2024, 2) DREAM, Acrylic & Collage on Canvas, 2026, 3) PROCIONE_Acrylic & Collage on Camvas_2024, 4) It’s raining bombs, NoWeapon, Acrylic on paper, 2024, 5) LACAILLE_Acrylic & Collage on Canvas_2024, 6) INDI_Acrylic & Collage on Canvas_2024 , 7) PRETAS_Acrylic & Collage on Canvas_2026, 8) THE_CROWD I, Acrylic on Canvas_2026, 9) THE CROWD II , Acrylic 0n Canvas_2026 , 10) Portrait photo Tenedle
Official website https://www.tenedle.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com
YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/tenedle
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Tenedlemusic/
Music https://tenedle.bandcamp.com/music
https://inzaken.eu/index.php/2026/04/17/tenedle-een-italiaanse-muzikant-performer-beeldend-kunstenaar-en-schilder-in-nederland/
Song “Sentence to death” album “Traumsender” 2018
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